Courtroom Organization and Personnel
Even if you have never been in a courtroom, you have a pretty good idea of what one looks like from television and the movies. You are probably also familiar with some of the courtroom personnel, though perhaps not all. Many people work within the court system before, during, and after trials. These people are necessary for bringing witnesses and evidence before the court, for communicating information about cases, and for helping people involved in the criminal justice process.
The judge is a public officer who has been appointed by either the provincial or federal government to administer the law in a courtroom. The duties of a judge include presiding over what goes on in the courtroom and administering the law. Sometimes a judge is referred to as the bench in reference to the elevated bench on which judges once sat while court was in session.
Witnesses
are people who have information pertaining to the case being
tried. Both the Crown and the defence can call witnesses to testify in a
criminal trial.
The Crown prosecutor
is a lawyer employed by the Attorney General and who is
responsible for reviewing the evidence in a criminal case and presenting
it in court. The Crown prosecutor works closely with the police to
build a case against a defendant. He or she must present all the
information that has been uncovered pertaining to the case and cannot
legally withhold any that might be favourable to an accused.
The
defence lawyer,
or
defence counsel,
is hired (or
retained
) privately by an accused (or assigned by Legal Aid if the accused
can't afford the fees) to act in his or her best interests before,
during, and after the trial. It is the job of the defence lawyer to
gather evidence, collect favourable witnesses, and research the
relevant law in an attempt to make the best case possible for his or her
client.
The
accused,
or
defendant
, is the person who is charged with having committed an offence and who is being tried.
The
jury
is a group of people selected from the community to listen to the
two sides - the accused and the Crown - make their cases and come to a
decision. Only the most serious crimes must be tried before a jury; less
serious ones allow an accused a choice as to the type of trial, while
summary conviction cases and the least serious indictable ones are
always tried before a judge alone.
Observers
are simply people from the public who, for whatever reason, have
decided to attend court and watch the proceedings. They may be people
involved in cases scheduled to be heard later in the day; they may be
friends or relatives of people involved in cases or people otherwise
interested in a particular case. They may be representatives of the
press, Legal Studies students, or simply people interested in courtroom
proceedings.
The
court clerk
is a court employee who carries out administrative duties. Among
other things, clerks check all documents for compliance with rules, keep
records of courtroom proceedings, sign judgments, and keep custody of
records and exhibits.
The
court recorder
is an employee whose job It is to record, word for word, what is
said in the courtroom during a trial - testimony, questions, and
comments. It is the responsibility of the court recorder to ensure that
everything is recorded accurately so that testimony can be reviewed at
any time.