Court room & sentencing

I've been in several courtrooms in the US over the years. They vary, but they serve a particular function, so there's a standard format.

There's a raised area where the judge sits behind a solid desk. To one side or the other is the witness' seat. Sometimes it's just a wooden chair, sometimes it's a nice chair. The judge always gets a nice chair--but they're sitting in it many many hours, so that makes sense.

Somewhere near the witness stand and the judge's desk is the court reporter's desk. Sometimes it has papers on it, usually it has a stenographing machine for the official record. Sometimes the court reporter acts as the judge's secretary.

There is two tables before the judge, usually on each side of the room (but how far apart that is varies depending on the size and shape of the room) for the defendant and lawyers and for the DA/prosecuting team. Sometimes there's a podium between the tables that they speak from.

On the same side of the room as the witness stand is the jury box. The back part of the seating area is usually raised (stadium seating) so all the jurors can see what's happening. Sometimes it's a picket-fence looking "wall", sometimes it's solid, but there's usually a wall between the jurors and the proceedings. When I was a juror, I've sat in both folding chairs and movie-theater chairs, so put in what you want there. There is usually a door in a back corner for the jurors, accused (if jailed) and the judge to enter and leave the courtroom without mingling with whoever else is there.

Behind the lawyers' tables is whatever "gallery" or audience seating. Again, I've seen it as folding chairs or fixed pews and normal seating. Again, this depends on the size and shape of the room. I've seen as few as 15 seats and as many as 200.

There's usually a separate official stationed nearer the door to screen people coming into the court room. There will be at least one baliff (police-type officer of the court) hanging around the judge's desk. Depending on the type of trial, there could be a sizeable number of baliffs (both sexes) present in the court room.

When my ex was sentenced for non-payment of child support, his lawyer was there. The Friend of the Court people acted as the prosecutor. When the judge made his ruling, the baliff came up from his place beside the judge and escorted him away. No handcuff, no major fuss (though the lady who'd gotten sentenced before my ex raised unholy hell and kicked at the baliff on the way out).

My suggestion, honestly, would be to watch an episode or three of a show like "Law & Order" (original, I don't know about the spin-offs) to see how it's done. It's accurate to my experience and, even more important, it's what people THINKS happens in the courtroom.

Good luck with your scene.

pmadams said:

Could use some descriptions of a court room. I have never really been in one (I guess that's a good thing) and I need to describe one. Also need to know what happens during a sentencing? Who is present and what generallytakes place?

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It varies widely from state to state, and even locality to locality. I have been in ornate courtrooms with historical woodwork, etc., and state of the art courtrooms with all hightech stuff, and small, grungy courtrooms with the bare neccessities. But the general desription in a previous comment is on target.

My suggestion is to go to court. :} Most criminal and civil court proceedings are public proceedings. You can double check by calling the local trial level court clerk's office (in the two states I've been to court in, the Circuit Court) and ask if criminal cases are open to the public (they almost always are). You can find out when some sentencigs will be and go watch.

SOme movies and TV shows can also give you ideas, but they will usually be more dramatic and explanatory that real life proceedings because they are geared to tell a story, whereas real life proceedings really are geared toward outcome.

But Law & Order, and other lawyer shows, will give you a good idea of modern day courtrooms in large cities, though the ones in Law and Order are generally cleaner and fresher furnished than real life. Small towns may have less ornate, less large, etc., courtrooms.

And you can get some idea of a sentencing by watching TV shows and movies - the best recent example I am thinking of is a made for TV movie of the Mathew Shepherd murder, though some Law and Orders would also be good, if a little dramatic.

But generally, at sentencing, the court has already received briefs and written materials, impact statements/letters from interested people, and something called a pre-sentence report done on the defendant. Both sides usually make an argument as to what they think is the proper senetence. In many cases, victims/victim's families are allowed to testify as to how the defendant's actions have hurt them, and the defense can likewise put on witnesses to show mitigating factors, reasons to leniancy etc. But every state has different rules about what can be presented at sentencing. There might also be evidence of the defendant's prior crimes or other matters that can enhance or mitigate the sentence. And depending on case, sentencing can be a short formality or a long drawn out almost second trial. Sometimes they can be quite emotional. Usually, they are open to the public and the gallery might have friends and family of the victim and defendants, law enforcement who worked on the case, news reporters (one or two is not big news, a lot if big news), in many states, news channels might even have cameras on in the courtroom (sometimes you'll see bits of sentencings on the news). Sometimes there are just people who frequent the courthouse watching cases.

I suggest you call your local district attorney/prosecutor (state, not federal) and ask if you can discuss a few questions with them. Ask abotu upcoming sentencings that you could watch. Then go watch.

Maybe even find some local defense attorneys who do serious criminal defense and explain what you are researching and ask if they can answer some questions, maybe let you see what a pre-sentence report looks like - depending on what level of research you need.

good luck.

~suki

I am in court as an interpreter all the time. I love the small town (Texas) courthouses; some originally built in the late 1800's and the heritage societies don't allow much updating. There are great stories such as one county courthouse still has a horse trough where horses were tied up to await their owners- lawyers ans clients. Today that same horse trough is used to dunk male lawyers who don't wear boots to court... Another courthouse has the upper gallery where women and colored were seated as they were not allowed to sit in the main court room. That gallery is closed off and no one is allowed up there today. I have worked in that exact court room for years and on occasion while interpreting, out of the corner of my eye...I swear I see people sitting there- dressed in clothing from that era. But when I look up there, the gallery is empty.

If you need to know about Tennessee courtrooms and procedures, let me know. I've served on two murder trials and one burglary.

It's worth seeing first-hand. I've been in the courtroom when verdicts in a few high-profile cases were being read, not as a defendant, but as a student.

Sentencing usually happens later, days or weeks after the guilty verdict. There's a judge, the DA, the defendant, his lawyer, a court reporter, the bailiff. If there are victims, they are often in the courtroom, and in recent years, the trend is to let victims and their families speak at the sentencing hearing. So if the victim was in the courtroom, he or she would probably also have a companion there for support, either a friend, relative or a court-appointed advocate.

In some courtrooms, a representative from the probation department is on hand for the sentencing hearing. Edited to clarify: In most instances, a PSI - called a presentencing report, a probation recommendation report, etc., has been prepared and already submitted to the judge. Even a person facing life in prison will have a PSI report on file. It gives the prison system guidance on where to send the inmate, based on their history and the probation investigator's opinion on the person's likelihood of reoffending.

Most of the time, the judge will place a high value on the information in the PSI. Once in a while, a judge goes off the rails. Google the names Latasha Harlins, Soon Ja Du and Joyce Karlin if you want to read about the perfect example of a judge completely blowing off the information contained in a convicted murder's pre-sentencing report.

Most criminal courtrooms are extremely busy places. The day you're sentenced for murder is undoubtedly the worst day of your life, but the courtroom is usually filled with strangers, including other attorneys and their clients. The phones are ringing on the court clerk and bailiffs' desks. You know how the criminal court judges on TV look like they're really into what they're doing, and they're focusing all of this passion and attention on the defendant they're ready to sentence?

In real life, except in the most high-profile cases, the judge is being pulled in a dozen different directions. His court clerk might slip the judge a message or set important documents in front of him, related to a case entirely separate from yours. If some yahoo is annoying the judge, such as a spectator chewing gum or wearing a baseball hat, he'll interrupt your sentencing hearing so that he can tell his bailiff to escort the scofflaw out of the courtroom.

If you want to read an actual sentencing transcript, go to Read what the judge, lawyers, victims and Madoff had to say. This is from the sentencing of Bernie Madoff yesterday. Other that the federal sentencing guidelines, it's structured pretty much the same as any sentencing I've ever been too. (I did criminal defense work for many years and have been through the experience way too many times.) For minor crimes (misdemeanors) a pre-sentence report is usually not prepared.

If this was a plea agreement, there would have been more discussion of the defendant waiving his rights, and the agreement would have been addressed.

Courtrooms are so varied that it isn't funny. I've been in ones that were just a large room with a judge's table (no bench), clerk's table beside it, and two tables for the two sides. Folding chairs were used by the people waiting their turn, to a courtroom that used so much mahogany that the courtroom is beyond description.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

talkwrite said:

I have worked in that exact court room for years and on occasion while interpreting, out of the corner of my eye...I swear I see people sitting there- dressed in clothing from that era. But when I look up there, the gallery is empty.

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Ugh! Imagine having to haunt a courtroom for all eternity, listening to lawyers prattle and drone. I think I'd prefer Hell.

In federal court, you'll have a judge, the judge's courtroom deputy (a clerk who does scheduling and various administrative tasks, seperate from the judge's secretary, who won't be there), the court reporter Z(stenographer), the prosecuror (sometimes two or more: A senior assistant US attorney and more junior ones), the defense attorney(s), and the defendant (although, at this point, he's technically a convict). If the person being sentenced is in federal custody (not out on bail), there will be two or more federal marshals in the room for security.

You might also get an interpreter, some of the judges law clerks (often young law students working there over the summer, learning the system), and a case agent from whichever federal agency initiated the case against the defendant (if it's a big case. Many times, the case agents don't bother showing up for sentencing). You might also see some family/friends of the person being sentenced. For a big case, other assistant US attorneys might show up to support their co-worker who got the conviction. You might have some reporters in attendance, if the case has received any media attention. And sometimes there are some retirees sitting in the back, people who just enjoy watching court proceedings (assuming the case isn't sealed, of course).

It's a very dry proceeding, rarely dramatic or interesting to someone with nothing at stake in the case. All of the arguing has been done, mostly in writing, so there are no suprises. It's all but a formailty. The good stuff has already happened.

About visiting courtrooms: Is it important to be there on time, before the trial begins, etc., or can you just walk in whenever?

Also, what kind of etiquette would be expected?

SharkGelli said:

About visiting courtrooms: Is it important to be there on time, before the trial begins, etc., or can you just walk in whenever?

Also, what kind of etiquette would be expected?

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It depends on the judge. In the courtrooms I've visited, the bailiffs would allow people inside in between hearings, but not right in the middle of a legal proceeding. I'd recommend getting there early and finding a seat in the back of the room.

Hats, T-shirts, shorts, and halter tops are a bad idea for apparel in most courtrooms. For women, I'd suggest wearing a dress or a skirt and for men, at the very least, a dress shirt, tie and slacks.

Turn off your cell phone. If you have any devices that are capable of audio or video recording, leave them in your car. Some judges will kick you out of the courtroom just for taking notes on a pad of paper, so you'll probably have to rely on your memory and write your notes when you leave the courtroom.

In fact, my best recommendation would be to travel as light as possible, because most courthouses have metal detectors that you have to walk through. Bring a photo ID.

The most interesting criminal proceedings are when the verdict is read, especially in a high-profile case. Sentencing hearings are less spectacular.

JulieHowe said:

Some judges will kick you out of the courtroom just for taking notes on a pad of paper,

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In my experience, most will. I was a broadcast reporter doing a courthouse beat for several years, and commonly sat through portions of trials. I never really understood why judges do this, but man, they really do hate anybody taking notes.

caw