Introduction
The legislative arm of government in any country enacts the laws of the land. However, it is the courts that decide how those laws are to be applied. This essay will discuss the role of the different participants in a court. Specifically, it will address the duties and responsibilities of the major participants, the selection process they go through and their significance in the proceedings of a court.
Courtrooms have specific layouts that ensure all legal issues that need to be attended to by the courts are handled in the most effective and efficient way possible. At the front of the courtroom, there is a raised position reserved specifically for the judge. This raised position enables the judge to see the whole of the court and therefore, be in a better position to control the court proceedings. This also serves to show that the Judge is the highest authority figure in the courtroom.
Being the highest authority in the courtroom, the judge has many duties that he carries out. He or she presides over the trial and pre-trial court proceedings. This means that he has the responsibility to maintain order in the court. He has the duty to determine whether the presented evidence is inadmissible or not. He is also useful during jury trials where he instructs the jury on how the law should be applied to particular cases. He is the one who weighs the facts and makes the final ruling in court cases (The Judge, n.d).
All the judges in the US are appointed by the United States president and approved by the US Senate. These include “the federal district court judges, the court of appeal judges, and the US Supreme Court judges” (Courtroom participants, 1997, p.1). The federal judges can only get out of office if they violate the law. However, the constitution under article III provides that judges can only be in office during good behavior.
This means that they can be impeached and convicted by the congress if found guilty of any offense. District judges have their jurisdiction at the district levels. The US magistrate judges help the district judges in case preparations. Sometimes they preside over criminal cases of a low magnitude, or in civil cases if parties agree. Magistrate judges as well as the bankruptcy judges in the US are appointed for a specific term in office. This means that they do not enjoy job security as the federal judges (Courtroom participants, 1997).
In the courtroom, one will also find Attorneys and the respective parties. A party in a court is any person or organization that is involved in a case. The attorney represents the party in court by defending the party using accepted legal procedures. The parties share the same positions with their attorneys. In the course of the trial the accused person’s presence is required. However, in civil cases, parties can choose to attend court proceedings or not. There are usually two types of attorneys in court proceedings, the plaintiff’s attorney, and the defense attorney. The plaintiff’s attorney usually argues using facts in favor of the party that filed the law suit.
The US has an attorney that stands in for the executive. These attorneys are usually referred to as federal prosecutors. The defense attorney on the other hand argues using facts in favor of the defendant, the party that is accused of a criminal offense. In the US, defendants who are not able to hire a lawyer are given one who is appointed by the judge and paid by the tax payer’s money. United States attorneys usually serve for a term of years and they are appointed by the president, approved by the congress and confirmed by the senate (Inside the Courtroom, n.d).
Every court has a courtroom deputy sometimes referred to as the courtroom clerk. Administering of oaths to witnesses is the work of the courtroom deputy. He also marks exhibits and assists in the smooth running of the trial. Courtroom deputies are usually employed by the court’s clerk who in turn is appointed by all judges who actively serve in the court. The chief district judge works in coordination with the clerk in overseeing the overall administration of the court.
In the US, the law requires that all trials be recorded word by word. Some courts carry out their own tape recordings while others have court reporters to prepare and keep court records. The court reporter therefore, produces records of proceedings if they are needed by any party to case especially in appeals (Courtroom participants, 1997).
There are cases which cannot be decided by a judge, in such cases, a jury can be appointed to decide if a person is guilty or not. The jury sits through the court proceedings. Members to a jury are usually drawn by a panel of people from the state. There are also instances where some cases may involve specialized knowledge. In such situations, experts may be needed to give insights in a particular area. Experts are usually appointed basing on proposals from the parties to a case, although the court can sometimes appoint experts when it deems fit.
The world today is so integrated to the extent that people of different cultures and language live next to each other. This means that you can find parties who speak different languages in a court. In such a situation, interpreters are needed. Interpreters are usually appointed by the court (Frostating Court of Appeal, n.d).
You will also find witnesses in the courtroom. They duty is to give crucial evidence in civil and criminal cases. Before a witness gives evidence, he or she takes an oath that he/she will tell only the truth. Witnesses usually come in at the request of any of the parties to a case; however, they are taken as the court’s witnesses. Witnesses do not need to follow the proceedings before given their evidence. There is usually a witness box where they are questioned by the attorneys or the prosecutors.
And finally courtrooms also have court ushers. Court ushers are usually helpful in cases of a high magnitude such as criminal cases. They are usually found at the court entrance. They assist court participants with practical tasks such as showing witnesses the witness box, helps the public and even the press to find where to sit (Frostating Court of Appeal, n.d).
Prosecutorial discretion
Prosecutorial discretion has been defined as the ability to determine which charges will be heard in law court and who will be brought against those charges. This privilege has positioned prosecutors on very powerful positions. It is expected that the prosecutors will act ethically in exercising this discretion. It is vital to furnish the prosecutor with the relevant information concerning a charge to enable him/her make a correct decision in reference to what should be done.
Prosecutors are called upon to act ethically as they are likely to attract scrutiny if they engage in bad judgements. Prosecutors ought to record the process of deciding a case as this is significant in case of a dispute on issues related to ethical judgement. In a way, the prosecutors regulate the work flow to the court rooms; by allowing more work flow the courts are overworked.
It is worth noting that the decision made should not be based upon the work load in a court of law as this will be making a judgement unethically. To ensure that there is no unethical exercising of the prosecutorial discretion there is a need for proper recording to be carried out by the prosecutor when making a decision. Such decisions should be made public for scrutiny and there should be a way to appeal against the prosecutor’s decision if one feels that some aspects were overlooked. This will make it possible for the due process to be upheld (Lippman, 2010).
Conclusion
As we have seen, courts have a specific layout that ensures that there is a smooth running of all case proceedings starting from the court usher right to the highest authority, the judge. All the proceedings are coordinate in such away that each participant plays his or her role as required.
References
Courtroom participants. (1997). History and Guide to the U.S. Courts. Web Documents. Web.
Frostating Court of Appeal. (n.d). Court participants. Frostating. Web.
Inside the courtroom. (n.d). A Federal Prosecutor. Justice. Web.
Lippman, M. (2010). Criminal Procedure. New York, NY: Sage.
The Judge. (n.d). Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants. US Courts. Web.