ARRANGEMENT OF THE COURTROOM [Refer to diagram]

The judge wears robes and sits at a high desk, called the bench. The court is in session when the judge is on the bench. The judge is referred to as “Your Honor.”

Witnesses are brought to testify at a special seat near the judge, called the witness stand. This is why it is called “taking the stand.”

The jury is brought in from the jury room, and sits alongside a wall close to where the judge sits.

Lawyers for prosecution and defense each sit at a large table facing the judge and witness stand.

• There is a railing behind the attorneys’ table, called the bar, and only official people are allowed in front of it.

There is always a court reporter or court stenographer whose job it is to write down everything that is said “on the record” at trial, using a stenotype machine.

The audience or spectators, including family members and friends, sit behind the bar. Generally speaking, those interested in either the prosecution or the defense sit in the audience, and usually sit on the side behind the appropriate lawyer.

There will be a Bailiff (a type of Deputy Sheriff) present in the courtroom for security and implementation of any judge’s orders. The defendant is held under guard in a secure holding cell during breaks.

COURTROOM TIPS

Be respectful of the court by following its rules.

You will go through security upon entering the building, similar to that at airports that check your bags, and you will pass through a metal detector.

No cell phones or cameras are allowed inside.

It helps to have someone with you in the courtroom. The DA’s Victim Witness Coordinator can be there with you, and/or you can ask supportive friends to come along.

• According to an NOPD Chaplain, many people feel like they are being victimized all over again when going through a trial and having to relive everything again, so plan to have someone to talk to.

Prepare a courthouse bag. Include tissues, cough drops, mints (but nothing that crackles, including noisy wrappers), change for the vending machine (you cannot bring in any food), change for phone booths, a cushion for the hard benches, and an empty water bottle that you can then fill from a water fountain. Have a book or magazine handy, since there can be long delays. Bring a pen and small notebook for notes and any questions you may want to ask your ADA during a break. Some courtrooms are quite cold, so bring something warm if needed.

It is recommended that you not make direct contact with the accused or any court personnel (e.g. judge or bailiff) outside of court.

The DA Victim Assistance Coordinators always make an effort to get space in the courtroom for victim survivors. Reach out to them first if there are any issues with a lack of seating.

Don’t be distressed if you see your ADA and defense attorney being friendly to one another, since they must interact on a regular basis, and they have a professional obligation to remain civil and courteous when in court.

The defense attorneys may make comments about you and/or your loved one that you find upsetting, depending upon the defense strategy (sometimes the goal is to try and remove responsibility from the accused by placing it on the victim). Because of this, it is a good idea to have someone there you can lean on for emotional support throughout the trial.

Some people recommend getting as many people to attend the trial as possible. This can send a message of support that the jury and judge will at least notice. However, don’t despair if there isn’t a big turnout—the facts of the case are what really matter.

You may find it helpful to attend other felony or murder trials, to help prepare you for what to expect in your own trial. It makes sense if you can attend some conducted by the judge who is handling your case. Of course, it is a sad thing to experience—by their nature these are unhappy events, because even if the defendant is convicted, there still remains the underlying loss and trauma. A word of caution: each case has its own circumstances so it is likely one may not look like the other.

Ask a support person(s) to keep others updated on the trial via the internet or phone calls. For your own records, you can cut out newspaper clippings, and ask others to record various channels of news coverage if you want to keep them.

DISAPPOINTMENTS AND CHALLENGES

Some challenges experienced by those who have gone through a trial include:

• Outrage at the leniency of the sentence

• Anger over a plea bargain arrangement

• The seeming indifference of officials involved, as well as from the community

• Feelings of guilt for not having protected oneself and/or the victim

• Feeling that you and/or your loved one is not being treated as a real person, or that the defendant gets more rights than the victim

• Sensational and inaccurate media coverage, or none at all

• Unanswered questions about the crime or the criminal legal system (e.g., why a confession was thrown out)

• Financial burdens attending court appearances

• Increased strain on marriages and family relationships, sometimes resulting in divorce, and negative effects on children

• Bitterness and loss of faith in the criminal legal system

REFLECTIONS ON DEATH PENALTY (“CAPITAL”) CASES

This is a touchy subject, and a personal one, but you might consider these issues:

• Most families report that seeing the individual convicted of the crime executed brought no relief, leaving instead a strange emptiness. A poll in March 2016 found that Louisianans prefer life sentences to the death penalty at a rate of 2 to 1.

• There are enormous costs involved in seeking the death penalty (compared to life in prison) because they require more experts, more attorneys, and endless appeals that clog the court system for years.

• It costs taxpayers between $2 to $5 million per death sentence for the trials and appeals involved. Life in prison averages $1 million (40 years at $25,000/year).

• The Louisiana Public Defender Board currently spends about one-third of its $33 million annual budget on capital cases. This translates into a crisis of providing representation to other defendants, thus badly slowing down cases in court.

• Most District Attorneys and law enforcement chiefs further agree the death penalty is not an effective crime deterrent. Nonetheless, those huge costs are borne by taxpayers, often by increasing taxes or cutting services like police or highway funding. That extra money could be used instead for more police, better lighting, education, and other services to victims.

• The death penalty is rarely carried out. Since 1976, 28 executions have occurred (two since 2000), which is about death sentences handed out.

• Innocent people continue to get executed, and poor people get the worst of it: “Capital punishment means them without the capital get the punishment.” (See the Innocence Project New Orleans.) Those who are sentenced to death aren’t always those whose crimes were the worst, but are more likely to be poor, people of color, and those whose victims were white people. Black male defendants are 30 times more likely to face the death penalty if his victim is a white woman as opposed to a black man.

In the beginning I was eaten up with a burning desire for revenge, but felt stymied because my late husband and I had been opposed to the death penalty. But when murder happened to my loved ones, I wanted the most severe punishment possible; later, I changed my mind. - Rose

A NOTE ABOUT COURT WATCH NOLA

Their mission statement states: “Court Watch NOLA is dedicated to promoting greater efficiency, transparency and procedural fairness in Louisiana criminal courts through citizen involvement and courtroom observation.”

Court volunteers – citizens who offer their time – monitor cases in each criminal courtroom, observing the treatment and handling of these cases by all official participants. They document how each judge handles his or her courtroom, noting things like the rate of continuances granted and time between them, number of closed cases, and case management. They also observe the defense and prosecutions requests for continuances, and readiness for hearings and trials.

• You can read their assessments and comments on every courtroom in their annual reports (at www.courtwatchnola.com).

• At some point, you might want to consider being a volunteer; the organization provides the necessary training.