What is it like in a Canadian Courtroom?
Important people in the courtroom:
- The Judge: The Judge listens to everything that is
said in the trial. If there is no Jury, the Judge makes the final
decision by believing the Crown Prosecutor who tries to prove that the
accused is guilty. If the Judge decides that the accused is guilty,
he/she will sentence the accused to a punishment of their choice. The
Judge is also in charge of everything and everyone in the courtroom.
He/she makes sure that all the court’s rules are followed, and everyone
is doing their job.
- Court Clerk: The court clerk prepares the court’s
schedule and helps out the Judge. They call the court to order and why
the accused is accused. He/she will ask all the witnesses to swear that
they will tell the truth and this is done by giving an oath or
promising. If a witness is Christian, they have the choice to place
their hand on a Bible or another Religious books.
- Crown Prosecutor: The Crown Prosecutor is like a
lawyer for a province/territory. The Crown Prosecutor is not the lawyer
for the victim, though he/she may be working on the same side as them.
He/she will ask the victim and witnesses questions to prove to the Judge
that the accused is guilty. Asking questions is called giving evidence.
- The Accused: The accused has been charged for
committing a crime. He/she has the right to not have to testify and has
the right to hear what the witnesses say about the case during the
trial.
What do you see in a courtroom?
- Public Benches: These benches are for the public
because every court is open to the public. However, in some cases, the
Judge will make an announcement saying that the trial will be closed
so no other people can be in and watch the trial .
- Prisoner’s Box: If the accused is in jail at the
time of the trial, he/she will sit in the Prisoners box. If he/she is
not in custody, they have the choice to sit in the box or near the
defence lawyer.
- Canadian Flag: The Canadian flag is the representative of our government, law, courts and community.
- Canadian Coat of Arms: Much like the flag of
Canada, in many courtrooms there is a Canadian Coat of Arms. This too
represents the law and courts and communities of Canada.
- Witness Stand: The witnesses are called to the
stand by the Crown Prosecutor to give evidence. If you are a victim of a
crime, you are a witness and will be called to the stand. In some
cases, the witnesses will be asked to stand outside of the courtrom, and
when your name is called by the court clerk, you can come inside to the
witness stand.
- Closed Circut TV: If you are under 18 and the Judge
allows it, you may be able to be in a different room and the people in
the courtroom at the time of the trial will see you on a TV screen so
you do not have to be inside the courtroom. Taken from Haley's blog
http://www.supremecourtbc.ca/criminalSupreme Court
These should be applied for criminal action,so how about civil action?
ReplyDeleteWe'll talk about that next week.
ReplyDelete