Courtroom paper

The Courtroom The courtroom is where some very important decisions are made and in some cases it is where someone’s life is determined in the blink of an eye. When a criminal is arrested that does not mean that they are thrown in jail and that is it they have to go through a process after they get to jail and that process is time consuming and can costs millions of dollars and also involves many people. The Jurors Jury selection is something that is not like any other job and an advertisement is not but in the paper and people apply it is something that people are summoned to and is a mandatory job and if you do not show up you can get a misdemeanor on your record and/or do jail time for not showing up. Being a juror is something that often goes unappreciated but very demanding but also is a very critical part of any court proceedings and is one of the central roles in the legal system. In the past jurors were expected to uphold the law and weigh the facts in a case but in modern day cases jurors are only expected to know the facts. Jurors are required to give their undivided attention to the proceedings and must listen to the judge, witnesses, attorneys and anyone else that may say something in court that is pertinent to the case. Jurors must consider the evidence presented and make good and unbiased decisions based on the evidence and facts presented in court. The outcome of the case in extremely important to everyone that is involved so jurors cannot let television, radio, newspapers, or other publicity concerning the case influence their decision. The verdict must be based solely on the evidence and facts presented during the trial. The Defendant You can become a defendant and not even want to because you can suspected, charged, or tried for a crime you say did not commit or also sued civilly. As the old saying goes “ everyone is innocent until proven guilty. ” Defendants can be either one person or they can be a corporation depending on the circumstances and the offense. According to statistics defendants are usually males and from the ages of fifteen to twenty-five and offenses significantly drop after the age of thirty and some say that is because some say that offenders mature out of crime. There are different categories of defendants and they are either “ white collar offenders”, corporation’s defendants, or street crime defendants. There are different defendants but they are there for one reason and that is to defend themselves and prove that they are innocent. The Victim The victim is one of the most important roles that are in the courtroom and also the main reason that there is a court case. Victims have to report the crime in order for there to be a court case. Within the recent years many state governments and the federal government have passed legislations to give the victim’s more voice within the courtroom. In 2000 the Violence Against Act was signed into law and provided $185 million for programs and services to prevent victimization and assist victims that provides: programs to provide training for judges and other court personnel on domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and child abuse, training for police, prosecutors, and judges on violence against people with disabilities, address the problem of dating violence as well as many other services. People that have been victimized may act differently around certain kinds of people and some may not want any contact at all. So sometimes it may be difficult for the victim to be in the courtroom during court proceedings but they can give their testimony behind closed doors just to the judge and others within the courtroom. The Bailiff Bailiffs provide several types of duties within the courtroom to the judge or magistrate. Depending on the jurisdiction the bailiff maybe a member of the courtroom staff or they maybe from the sheriff’s office. The main job of a bailiff is to maintain order and provide security to the courtroom. Bailiffs are often called upon to physically restrain someone that is being disruptive, aggressive, or threatening. During a trial the bailiff escorts the defendant in and out of the courtroom and in many courtrooms the bailiffs swear in witnesses before they testify from the witness box. They also escort the jurors to and from the courtroom and in some cases to their cars after the trial. The bailiff also gets any questions from the jury that they may have for the judge and then returns with the answer. Then when the jury is ready then it is the bailiff’s job to deliver the verdict to the courts. The Court Clerks Court clerks are basically the judges assistant because they assist the judges with issues that may arise in the courtroom such as scheduling the calendars for the courts, entering evidence into the trial record, and communicating with other members within the courthouse not just the others in their courtroom such as they communicate with the jury managers to decide how many jurors may be needed on particular cases. The court clerks is also the person that does the paperwork that keeps the courts running smoothly because if something is out of place it can throw a whole court case off. Also they are the ones that are the responsible for getting any forms that are needed in the courts. Without the court clerk that papers needed would not be where they are suppose to be. The Witness The witness is the person or persons that provide evidence that may be needed for the case. Some witnesses may come forward on their own or they may be subpoenaed in to court. There is also eyewitnesses that actually see what happened, and then you have expert witnesses that have special knowledge of what happened and then you have the character witnesses that provide an opinion of the suspected criminal or they may provide a description of the person in question within the community. In the courtroom it is not just the judge and the accused it is many people that make the courtroom work. Although it is not just the judge there is a step by step process to get to certain peoples job in the courtroom such as without the victim coming forward you would not have the defendant and without the defendant you would not need jurors and so on down the line. References – Meyer, J. and Grant, D. (2003). The Courts in our Criminal Justice System. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. www. npmunicipalcourt. org