In their 1977 book, Felony Justice: An Organizational Analysis of Criminal Courts, James Eisenstein and Herbert Jacob, coined the term “courtroom workgroup” (Eisentstein & Jacob, 1977). They specifically referred to the cooperative working relationship between prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges in working together to efficiently resolve cases in the criminal courts. This chapter generally uses courtroom workgroups to include all the individuals working in criminal courts—judges, attorneys, and other court staff. In figure 7.13, the judge is shown sitting on an elevated platform. This physical elevation helps to illustrate that the Judge is the most powerful member of the courtroom workgroup.

Figure 7.13. Hennepin County Judge Jeannice Reding presides over a motion hearing in Hennepin County District Court, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The accusatory phase (the pretrial phase) and adjudicatory phase (the trial phase) of the criminal justice process include individuals who regularly work together in the trial courts:

• The prosecutor files the accusatory instrument, sometimes called an indictment. They then represent the state in plea bargaining, on pretrial motions, during the trial, and in the sentencing phase.
• The defense attorney represents the defendant after charges have been filed, through the pretrial process, in a trial, and during sentencing, and maybe on the appeal process.
• Judges, aided by several court personnel, conduct the pretrial, trial, and sentencing hearings.

Prosecutors, defense counsel, and judges perform different roles, but all are concerned with the judicial process and the interpretation of the law. These law professionals are graduates of law schools and have passed the bar examination establishing their knowledge of the law and their ability to do legal analysis. As members of the state or federal bar associations, they are subject to the same legal codes of professional responsibility, disciplinary rules, and ethical rules and opinions for lawyers. Although the American criminal justice system is said to represent the adversarial model, the reality is that prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and court staff work with cooperation and consensus rather than conflict. This is understandable when considering the common goal of efficient and expedition case processing.

7.7.1 Trial Judges

Trial court judges are responsible for presiding over pretrial, trial, and sentencing hearings, as well as probation and parole revocation hearings. They issue search and arrest warrants, set bail or authorize release, sentence offenders, engage in presentence conferences with attorneys, and work with court clerks, bailiffs, jail staff, and others. Trial judges have considerable, but not unlimited, discretion. In addition to the ethical and disciplinary rules governing all attorneys in the state, trial judges are subject to judicial codes of conduct. Judges are bound by the applicable rules of law when deciding cases and writing their legal opinions. Some rules governing judges are flexible guidelines, while others are precise requirements.

During the pretrial phase, judges make rulings on the motions brought before the court. These rulings include motions or requests to exclude certain evidence, to require important information, and to change the venue or location of the trial. Because most cases are resolved before trial through plea-bargaining, one important judicial function is taking the defendant’s guilty plea.

If a defendant chooses to give up (or waive) their right to a trial by jury, they receive a bench trial. In a bench trial, the judge hears and decides the case as the sole “trier of facts.” Like jurors in a jury trial, the judge has considerable discretion or authority when deciding what facts were proven (or not) by the parties. The judge also decides the credibility of witnesses. If the defendant chooses a jury trial instead, the jury decides what the facts are. In either a bench or jury trial, the trial judge rules on whether any of the evidence—that is, whether a jury is entitled to hear certain testimony or look at physical evidence. The judge also decides whether witnesses are competent, whether privileges exist, whether witnesses qualify as experts, whether jurors will be excused from jury service, and so forth. At the end of the jury trial, the judge gives a set of jury instructions to the jurors, which informs them on the law that applies to the case they are deciding.

If the defendant is convicted, then the judge will impose the sentence. Except for death penalty cases, jurors are generally not involved with sentencing the defendant. Judges have perhaps the broadest discretion in their role of imposing sentences. However, with more states enacting mandatory minimums and sentence guidelines, judicial discretion has been severely curtailed.

7.7.1.1 Trial Judge Selection and Qualifications

The sole qualification to be a judge in most jurisdictions is a degree from a law school and membership in the state’s bar association. State procedures in selecting judges vary tremendously, but the main differences are whether judges are elected, appointed, or selected based on merit. Four primary methods are used to select judges in the United States:

1. By appointment, with or without confirmation by another agency.
2. By partisan political election.
3. By nonpartisan election.
4. By a combination of nomination by a commission, appointment, and periodic reelection (the Missouri Plan).

The length of time a judge will “sit,” called a term in office or tenure, varies greatly, generally from four to sixteen years. Frequently, the term for a trial judge is less than that of appellate judges. At the appellate level, six years is the shortest term. A few states have lifetime tenure for judges.

7.7.2 Judicial Clerk, Law Clerk, and Judicial Assistants

Generally, judges have one or two main assistants. These individuals are known as judicial clerks, clerks of court, law clerks, or judicial assistants. There may be several court clerks who interact each day with all the judges in the courthouse. The clerk of court works directly with the trial judge and is responsible for court records and paperwork both before and after the trial. Usually, each judge has their own clerk. The clerk prepares all case files that a judge will need for the day. During hearings and the trial, these clerks record and mark physical evidence introduced in the trial, swear in the witnesses, administer the oath to the witness, take notes cataloging the recordings, and so forth. In some jurisdictions, law clerks are lawyers who have just completed law school and may have already passed the bar exam. In other jurisdictions, the law clerks are not legally trained but may have specialized paralegal or legal assistant training.

7.7.3 Local and State Trial Court Administrators

Local and state trial court administrators oversee the administration of the courts. These administrators’ responsibilities include hiring and training court staff such as clerks, judicial assistants, and bailiffs. ensures that the court caseloads are efficiently processed while keeping records and sending case files to reviewing courts. Court administrators also verify that local court rules are being implemented and work with the local and state bar associations. This collaboration is done through effective communications to promote the expedient resolutions of civil and criminal cases.

7.7.4 Indigency Verification Officers

The Indigency Verification Officer (IVO) is a court employee who investigates defendants’ financial status and determines whether they meet the criteria for court-appointed counsel or attorney. A court-appointed attorney is a lawyer selected by the court to represent an indigent defendant. Many individuals accused of a crime qualify as indigent—someone unable to afford a lawyer. Qualification for a court-appointed attorney varies from place to place. One difficulty in qualifying is having equity in a home that cannot be easily sold quickly enough to hire an attorney. Another difficulty for the IVO is getting information from defendants who may have mental health conditions.

7.7.5 Bailiffs

Bailiffs are the court staff responsible for courtroom security. Bailiffs are often local sheriff deputies or other law enforcement officers. But they can also be civilians hired by the court. Sometimes, bailiffs can be volunteers. Bailiffs work under the supervision of the trial court administrator. During court proceedings, bailiffs or clerks call the session to order and announce the judge’s entry. They ensure that public spectators remain orderly, keep out witnesses who might testify later, and attend to the jurors. As courtroom security becomes a bigger concern, law enforcement officers are increasingly used as bailiffs. They are responsible for the safety of the court personnel, spectators, witnesses, and parties. In some communities, law enforcement bailiffs may transport in-custody defendants between the jail and the courthouse. In most jurisdictions today, bailiffs screen people for weapons and require them to silence cell phones before entering the courtroom.

7.7.6 Jury Clerk

The jury clerk sends out jury summons to potential jurors and works with jurors’ requests for postponements of jury service. They coordinate with the scheduling clerk to ensure enough potential jurors show up at the courthouse for trials (figure 7.14). They also schedule grand jurors and arrange payment to jurors for their service. In some cases, the judge might decide to sequestrate the jury, meaning that the jury must be isolated to avoid any outside influence. During jury sequestrations, the clerks arrange lodging and meals for jurors.

Figure 7.14. The jury clerk coordinates with the scheduling clerk to ensure enough potential jurors show up at the courthouse for trials.

7.7.7 Court Clerks and Staff

Court structure varies by courthouse, but frequently court staff is divided into units. For example, staff may be assigned to work in the criminal unit, the civil unit, the traffic unit, the small claims unit, the juvenile unit, the family unit, or the probate unit. Smaller communities may have just a few court clerks who “do it all.” With the trend towards specialized courts (drug, mental health, domestic violence, and veteran courts), staff may specialize in and/or rotate in and out of the various units. Court staff is expected to know local court rules, protocols, statutes, and administrative rules. These rules involve filing processes, filing fees, filing timelines, accounting, record maintenance, and a knowledge of general office established practices. Court staff order supplies, master office machinery, and follow safety protocols. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many courts transitioned to electronic filing of all documents, usually managed through a centralized state court system. Court staff work with the filing software, keep up with new filings, and archive past court documents.

7.7.8 Release Assistance Officers

Release assistance officers (RAOs) are court employees who meet with defendants at the jail. They gather information to pass on to the judge, who makes release decisions. RAOs make their recommendations based on the defendant’s likelihood of reappearance. They make other considerations specified by statute or local rules. In determining whether the defendant is likely to reappear, the RAO considers the defendant’s ties to the community and their prior record of failures to appear. They also look at the defendant’s employment history, whether the defendant lives in the community, the nature and seriousness of the charges, and any potential threat the defendant may present to the community.

The available space at the jail may also play a role in whether an individual is released. Court and jail staff may need to work together to establish release protocols when space is limited. The RAO should have a significant voice in drafting those protocols. The RAO may recommend security (bail) or conditional release. They will generally suggest to the judge the conditions the defendant should abide by to make bail or be conditionally released. Defendants released before trial will sign release agreements indicating the conditions of release recommended by the RAO and imposed by the judge. RAOs may also investigate the defendant’s proposed living conditions upon release to ensure that they promote lawful activity and the ability to reappear for all scheduled court appearances.

7.7.9 Scheduling Clerk

The scheduling clerk, or docketing clerk, sets all hearings and trials on the court docket. The scheduling clerk notes the anticipated duration of trials, speedy trial constraints, statutory and local court rules, time frames, and more. Effective scheduling clerks contribute to the overall efficiency of the legal process. Part of scheduling is keeping track of law enforcement officers and defense attorneys’ scheduled vacations. The scheduling clerk must track the judges’ calendars, scheduled vacation time and training days, and desk time for resolving cases they have taken under advisement.