Courtroom Players

What is the judge's role?

The judge is like an umpire. The judge ultimately runs the trial, rules on objections, and rules on legal motions that the parties bring. Typically the judge tries to narrow the issues as the case movies to trial. Basically the judge's role is simply to react to what the lawyers do. If the lawyer files a motion, then to rule on the motion. The judge is more of a reaction person. In a bench trial, if there is no jury, then the parties try the case to the judge and the judge will also make the decision.

What is the prosecutor's role?

The prosecutor's role in a criminal case is to evaluate the police report, decide whether they think the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecutor should never file a case simply because a defendant is unpopular or maybe has done other things in the past. The question is: can they prove that a defendant did a particular act now beyond a reasonable doubt? The prosecutor then files the charges and handles the case from the filing of the charges through pre-trial negotiations, if any, and ultimately trial.

What is the defense attorney's role?

Well, the defense attorney is supposed to protect the defendant's rights prior to trial. In a civil case, the defense attorney will file papers responding to the plaintiff's case, will investigate the case, talk to the defendant, talk to witnesses, gather evidence, get ready for trial, and negotiate with the plaintiff. In a criminal case, the defense attorney's role is even more strongly aligned with the defendant, to do everything they can to try to prevent the defendant from being found guilty; whether that's by going to trial or negotiating a plea bargain. Most criminal cases end with the defense agreeing to plead guilty to something. It's the defense attorney's role to try to get the charges reduced as much as possible. If the defendant has a substance problem, try to get treatment as part of the sentencing. Basically to do whatever you can to help the client overcome these criminal charges.

What is a 'plaintiff'?

A plaintiff's actually a term used generally in a civil case. The plaintiff is the person who files an action in court against the defendant claiming that somebody, some company, or some organization did something which caused them damage and they want to be paid for it. So, the plaintiff is the person that institutes the lawsuit.

What is a 'defendant'?

The defendant is the person who is sued, in a civil case. They are basically the person from whom they want damages, money often, or to take some action like tear down the wall you built the encroaches on my property. In a criminal case, the defendant is a person who is charged with a crime.

What is a 'bailiff'?

A bailiff is a representative of, usually the sheriff's department. A bailiff is in the courtroom to keep order, protect the parties, also usually has a number of other duties. If there's a jury, to take the jury in and out of the courtroom, they often will carry exhibits from the lawyers to a witness. But, basically their job is to represent law enforcement inside the courtroom.

What is a courtroom 'stenographer'?

A stenographer is a person who records the testimony. Every criminal trial and most civil trials, although sometimes only if you pay for it, will have a stenographer to record the questions, answers, conversations between the judges, the judge and the lawyers and the instructions that the judge gives to witnesses or lawyers or to the jury. Essentially, it is to make as complete a record as possible of what went on in the court so that later, let's say an appellate court wants to know whether any errors were made during the trial, the court will have a complete verbal record of what went on.

What is the court clerk's role?

Court clerks basically maintain all the records inside the courtroom. They mark the exhibits. They keep track of the exhibits. If motions are filed, they put the motions in the file. They are basically the record keepers for the judge. They usually work for the individual judges, and they make sure that the judge has all the papers and may call the lawyer if some papers are missing. That's basically the court clerk's role.

What is the jury's role?

The jury's role is to decide which sides' story they believe or to come up with their own story that they believe, but the jury's role is to basically decide the case, and peruse into the instructions that the judge gives them. They evaluate the credibility of the witnesses. They decide who they believe, who they don't believe. They basically decide whether the plaintiff in a civil trial has proved the claims by ponderance of the evidence and in a criminal trial whether the prosecutor has proved the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

How is a trial conducted?

Trials proceed according to an order that's evolved over centuries. The order is followed pretty strictly because that way everybody knows what to expect; if there's a jury trial, it starts with jury selection. Once the jurors are selected and sworn, then the plaintiff makes an opening statement which gives the jury a sense of what the plaintiff's evidence is going to be and why it's important. The defense may make an opening statement immediately or may reserve it, and may wait until it's time for the defense to prevent evidence. Then the plaintiff or prosecution calls their witnesses. The plaintiff's go first as they started the case. After each witness testifies, then the defense gets a chance to question them; that is called cross-examination. And then once the plaintiff or prosecution rests, that means we've presented the evidence that we want to present, then the defense has a chance to present its witnesses. And again, just like the defense had a chance to cross-examine the plaintiff's witnesses, the plaintiff or prosecutor gets a chance to cross-examine the defense witnesses. Then there's typically some arguments, a closing argument, where each side tries to persuade the judge or jury that their case is meritorious, asking for a verdict in favor of their client, and then the case is turned over to the judge or jury for decision.