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A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...
. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual technology to permit everyone present to clearly hear testimony and see exhibits.


By country


Ireland

Irish legal tradition is inherited from English tradition and so an Irish courtroom has a similar setup to the English/Welsh model. The
judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
(or judges, in the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
and
Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with ...
or some High Court cases) sits on a raised platform at the top of the court and wears a
white collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a professional who performs office-based or similar service-based jobs, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor * White-collar boxing * White-collar crime The term ...
(also called ''tabs'') and a black
gown A gown, from the Latin word, ''gunna'', is a usually loose outer garment from knee-to-full-length worn by people of both sexes in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the t ...
; he/she does not wear a
wig A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair, or a synthetic imitation thereof. The word is short for "periwig". Wigs may be worn to disguise baldness, to alter the wearer's appearance, or as part of certain professional uniforms. H ...
and does not use a
gavel A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet/hammer commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially ...
. The Irish national arms, a
Celtic harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring gr ...
, is on the wall behind the judge, where the
royal arms The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, also referred to as the royal arms, are the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently Charles III. They are used by the Government of the United Kingdom and by other The Crown, Crown instit ...
would be in a British court. The court registrar sits in front of the judge and administers oaths and deals with paperwork. The solicitors are at the front of the registrar, and the jury (if it is a jury trial) sits in a box to one side. The accused sits at the other side with a prison officer. A judicial assistant does legal research for the judge; they also announce when the judge enters of leaves the courtroom (usually by saying ‘all rise’, or in Irish ). Witnesses give testimony in a witness box to one side of the judge.
Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
s are seated facing the judge, and the public and press behind them. Barristers also wear black robes and a white collar, and may wear a
wig A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair, or a synthetic imitation thereof. The word is short for "periwig". Wigs may be worn to disguise baldness, to alter the wearer's appearance, or as part of certain professional uniforms. H ...
if they wish. All proceedings are recorded by a Digital Audio Recording (DAR) box. Irish court cases are not televised; one exception was a 2017 broadcast of some
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
decisions.


United States

The judge generally sits behind a raised desk, known as the '' bench''. Behind the judge are the great seal of the jurisdiction and the flags of the appropriate federal and state governments. Judges usually wear a plain black robe (a requirement in many jurisdictions). An exception was the late
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney who served as the 16th chief justice of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2005, having previously been an associate justice from 1972 to 1986. ...
, who broke tradition by adorning his robe with four gold stripes on each sleeve. (Rehnquist reportedly said that he had been inspired to add the stripes by his having seen such stripes worn by the character of the judge, in a local production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operatic spoof of English jurisprudence, ''
Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...
''.) Adjacent to the bench are the witness stand and the desks where the
court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court and administering oaths ...
and the
court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine or a stenomask, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certif ...
sit. The courtroom is divided into two parts by a barrier known as the '' bar''. The bar may be an actual
railing Railing or railings may refer to: * Railings (horse), a racehorse * Guard rail, a structure blocking an area from access ** Cable railings, a type of guard rail * Handrail, a structure designed to provide support on or near a staircase * Grab bar, ...
, or an imaginary barrier. The
bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
stands (or sits) against one wall and keeps order in the courtroom. On one side is the judge's bench, the tables for the plaintiff, the defendant, and their respective counsel, and a separate group of seats known as the ''jury box'' where the jury sits. Apart from the parties to the case and any witnesses, only the lawyers can literally pass the bar (court personnel and jury members usually enter through separate doors), and this is the reason why the term ''the bar'' has come to refer to the legal profession as a whole (see
bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.
). There is usually a podium or lectern between the two tables where the lawyers may stand when they argue their case before the judge. In the Commonwealth (and many other countries), a courtroom used for trials of criminal cases often has a dock: a space exclusively reserved for seating a criminal defendant. It is marked off with a barrier, like the jury box and the witness stand. As late as the 1970s, some American courtrooms also had docks, but they gradually fell out of use. Defendants argued that they were prejudicial and interfered with the accused's
right to counsel In criminal law, the right to counsel means a defendant has a legal right to have the assistance of counsel (i.e., lawyers) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant's legal ex ...
, since defense attorneys were traditionally seated at the table for defense counsel and were not normally allowed to sit next to the dock. There is usually an open space between the bench and the counsel tables, because of the court clerk and court reporter's tables in front of the bench and the jury box on the side. This space is called ''the well''. It is considered extremely disrespectful to the court for persons who are not court employees to directly "traverse the well" without permission—that is, to walk directly toward the bench across the well—and some courts have rules expressly forbidding this for the safety of the judge. Instead, if documents need to be given to or taken from the judge, attorneys are normally expected to approach the court clerk or bailiff, who acts as an intermediary. During trials, attorneys will ask the court's permission to traverse the well or "approach the bench" for "sidebar" conferences with the judge. On the other side of the bar is the ''gallery'', with benches and chairs for the general public. In some cases the gallery is separated from the rest of the room by
bulletproof glass Bulletproof glass, ballistic glass, transparent armor, or bullet-resistant glass is a strong and optically transparent material that is particularly resistant to penetration by projectiles, although, like any other material, it is not completel ...
. All of the above applies only to trial courts. Appellate courts in the United States are not finders of fact, so they do not use juries or receive
evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
into the record; that is the trial court's job.
In re Zeth S.
', 31 Cal. 4th 396, 2 Cal. Rptr. 3d 683, 73 P.3d 541 (2003).
Therefore, in an appellate court, there is neither a witness stand nor a jury box, and the bench is much larger to accommodate multiple judges or justices. The walls are often partially or completely wood-paneled. This is a matter of style and tradition, but some jurisdictions have elected to construct courtrooms with a more modern appearance. Some courtroom settings are little more than a
closed-circuit television camera A closed-circuit television camera is a type of surveillance camera that transmits video signals to a specific set of monitors or video recording devices, rather than broadcasting the video over public airwaves. The term " closed-circuit televis ...
transmitting the proceedings to a correctional facility elsewhere to protect the court from violent defendants who view the proceedings on television within a jail conference room and are allowed duplex communications with the judge and other officers of the court. Many courtrooms are equipped with a speaker system where the judge can toggle a switch to generate
white noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used with this or similar meanings in many scientific and technical disciplines, i ...
during sidebar conversations with the attorneys so that the jury and spectators cannot hear what is being discussed off-record. Multiple courtrooms may be housed in a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...
. The schedule of official court proceedings is called a docket.


United Kingdom


England and Wales

Courtrooms vary considerably in their layout, reflecting the history and development of the building. Some historic courtrooms remain in use and are generally wood-panelled; most newer courtrooms are not panelled and generally have a modern appearance. Depending on the layout of the room, a claimant may sit on either the right or left in a civil court, just as the prosecution may sit on either side (usually the opposite side to the jury) in a criminal court. In British courtrooms, a witness testifies from a witness-box, rather than the American "witness stand". In a criminal court, where the defendant is held in custody prior to court appearance, the defendant will be escorted by the security firm that has the contract to serve that court. In rare circumstances in civil trials a bailiff or someone else charged to keep order may be present (for example if a tenant who is due to be evicted for violent behaviour or a defendant arrives in court drunk). Unless prevented by disability, advocates are expected to address the court standing up, from the position where they were seated before addressing the court. Appellate courts may hear evidence (and also be finders of fact) as well as review legal argument. In such cases witness evidence may be necessary, and many appellate courts therefore have witness stands. Courtrooms for hearings of the
Family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...
which consider matters such as custody of children and divorce are generally smaller and more informal in layout than those for criminal and civil proceedings. The Royal Coat of Arms is placed above and behind the judge or presiding magistrates to symbolise the fact that trials in England and Wales are carried out in the name of
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. The only exceptions to this are in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
courts where the judge or magistrate sits below the arms of the City of London as well as the Crown, a historic anomaly. In England and Wales the Royal Coat of Arms is displayed prominently over the main external entrance to the courthouse.


Scotland

As in other countries, the judge or sheriff sits on the bench. Directly below the bench is the clerk's station which usually has a computer to allow the clerk to get on with Court Disposal work during proceedings. Directly in front of the clerk is the well of court which has a semi-circular table at which all the advocates sit during proceedings. The
Procurator Fiscal A procurator fiscal (pl. ''procurators fiscal''), sometimes called PF or fiscal (), is a public prosecutor in Scotland, who has the power to impose fiscal fines. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland (similar to a corone ...
or
Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecutor, prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by Charles III of the United Kingd ...
always sits in the seat at the right of the clerk during criminal proceedings. Behind the well of the court is the dock in which the accused will sit during proceedings. Dependent on the style of the courtroom, the jury box will either be on the right or left hand side of the well of the court. Scotland is unique in the western world in that it has 15 jurors. Usually to the right or left of the bench (again dependent on style and always directly opposite the jury) slightly raised and facing forward is the stand where any witness who is called will give evidence. The stand is designed so that any solicitor examining a witness as well as the judge/sheriff may get a good view of the testimony. At the far side of the courtroom directly opposite the jury box and behind the stand are seats for journalists who are attached to the court and the court social worker. Seats for members of the public are the back of the courtroom. There is no
court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine or a stenomask, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certif ...
in Scotland; normal summary cases are simply minuted by the clerk indicating the disposal. If the case is a solemn (more serious) case involving a jury or if the case has a sexual element then proceedings will be tape recorded which is done under the supervision of the clerk. A High Court Noter is also in attendance to record witness evidence on behalf of the Crown. Like in England and Wales, in Scotland the Royal Coat of Arms is placed above and behind the judge or presiding sheriffs to symbolise the fact that trials are carried out in the name of
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. However, the Scottish version (unicorn on viewer's left, motto ''Nemo Me Impune Lacessit'', etc.) is always used. The arms also appears prominently over the main external entrance to the courthouse.


Gallery


References

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