Courtroom Personnel: Independent and Interdependent in Legal Disputes - Essay Sample

Introduction

A court refers to an institution that has the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between aggrieved parties. A courtroom comprises of various people that perform different roles to enhance the administration of justice. Some of the people who work in a court include defence counsel, prosecution, judges, and other courtroom personnel such as witnesses, court reporters, and clerks (O'Mahony, 2010). Courtroom personnel are both independent, as well as mutually interdependent in the course of performing their roles. The paper focuses on discussing and evaluating the roles of judges, defence counsel, prosecutors, as well as other courtroom personnel. Besides, the paper discusses the benefits and pitfalls of both independent and mutually interdependent relationships among courtroom personnel.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Judges play many roles within a courtroom such as interpreting the law, assessing the evidence presented in the court, and controlling how trials and hearings are conducted in the courtrooms. Judges preside over trials and enforce the rules of the court as well as hearing arguments from attorneys (Halberstam, 2008). Also, judges listen to witnesses as well as receiving, reviewing and evaluating the testimonies presented by witnesses. Throughout the trial session, judges are mandated to make effective rulings on whether the testimonies and evidence presented by witnesses are relevant and admissible to the case. Besides, judges ensure order in the courtroom and make binding decisions regarding a specific trial and sentence convicted criminals. In their rulings, judges ensure that they remain impartial and strive to ensure the independent and fair administration of justice. Important to note is the fact that judges are the heads of a courtroom and give directions as well as supervising other officers as well as the court's administrative staff. Judges are independent when making their rulings (O'Mahony, 2010). For instance, they cannot be coerced by other courtroom personnel on how to make their ruling. However, they also have a mutually interdependent relationship with other courtroom personnel since they depend on them to make final judgements. For instance, the judge has to work closely with court clerks as well as listen to lawyers of both plaintiff and defence sides and the witnesses. Therefore, judges exhibit both independent and mutually interdependent relationships with other courtroom personnel in the course of performing their roles.

Prosecutor is the person who institutes criminal proceedings before a court. The prosecution is mandated to present cases in a criminal trial against any person accused of breaking the law and acts on behalf of the government (Halberstam, 2008). The prosecutor is an officer of the court and is responsible for identifying witnesses. The main functions of the prosecutor include investigating crimes, appearing in court to convince the judge on the crime done by the accused person, as well as instigating legal proceedings. The prosecutor works closely with police officers and has contact with the person suspected to have committed a crime, as well as, victim and witnesses. The main function of the prosecutor is to provide evidence in the courtroom and to prove that the suspected person has committed the crime. Like judges, prosecutors also are independent, and they are not influenced in their role of gathering evidence (McCubbins & Rodriguez, 2008). However, they also have a mutually interdependent relationship with other courtroom officers since prosecutors cannot work on their own and require the assistance of other personnel such as police officers, judges and court clerks.

The defence counsel comprises of lawyers that are hired to the accused person to represent them in court (O'Mahony, 2010). The defence counsel defends people and organizations charged with a crime in a court of law. Some of the roles played by the defence counsel include interviewing witnesses, advocating for the accused at trial, and negotiating on a plea bargain. Also, the defence counsel examines prosecution witnesses. The defence counsel is also responsible for drafting motions to dismiss the case presented by the prosecutor (McCubbins, & Rodriguez, 2008). Important to note is the fact that defence counsel research on pertinent case law develops an effective case strategy. The defence counsel also enjoys both independent and mutually interdependent relationship with other courtroom personnel. For instance, the defence counsel has the right to investigate the case presented before the court independently. However, the defence counsel has a mutually interdependent relationship with other court personnel, for instance, while cross-examining prosecution witnesses.

Other court personnel include court reporters, clerks, interpreters, and witnesses. The court reporter's work is to type records of the court on a stenographic machine (Halberstam, 2008). The role of witnesses is to give testimonies about the case (Halberstam, 2008). Court clerks help judges in managing cases by keeping track of court files and orders. The court interpreter is provided by the court for free to interpret the decisions and proceedings of the court to individuals who do not understand the language used in court. Therefore, the other court administrative staff also works on a mutually interdependent relationship with judges, defence counsel and prosecution.

Both independent and mutually interdependent relationships among court personnel provide benefits as well as pitfalls to the administration of justice. Some of the advantages of an independent relationship among court personnel such as judges include impartial rulings and decisions, as well as, promoting integrity and fairness in deciding cases (Halberstam, 2008). Also, a mutually interdependent relationship among courtroom personnel offers the benefit of clarity, fairness in the making of rulings, as well as, hastening case proceedings. However, there can be pitfalls of a mutually interdependent relationship among courtroom personnel. For instance, it may lead to collusion and subverting of the impartiality of judges (O'Mahony, 2010). Other pitfalls of the relationship among courtroom personnel include leaking of information and instances of corruption, thus leading to subversion of justice.

References

Halberstam, D. (2008). Comparative Federalism and the Role of the Judiciary. In The Oxford handbook of law and politics. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Role+of+judiciary+in+2019&btnG=#d=gs_cit&u=%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dinfo%3A4GCyNHyGpNMJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F%26output%3Dcite%26scirp%3D4%26hl%3Den

McCubbins, M. D., & Rodriguez, D. B. (2008). The judiciary and the role of law. In The Oxford Handbook of Political Economy. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Role+of+judiciary+in+2019&btnG=#d=gs_cit&u=%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dinfo%3A4GCyNHyGpNMJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F%26output%3Dcite%26scirp%3D4%26hl%3Den

O'Mahony, B. M. (2010). The emerging role of the registered intermediary with the vulnerable witness and offender: Facilitating communication with the police and members of the judiciary. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(3), 232-237. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Role+of+judiciary+in+2019&btnG=#d=gs_cit&u=%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dinfo%3A4GCyNHyGpNMJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F%26output%3Dcite%26scirp%3D4%26hl%3Den