Courtrooms and trials differ in size,
jurisdiction, and purpose, but they all share some fundamental characteristics.
For instance, civil and criminal trials are based on the adversary system. Most of us
have seen these epic battles on TV shows like Law and Order. Two sides put forward
their best cases. To some people that's motive for murder. Objection! That is
not cross examination, that's pure speculation! Let's move on. In civil
trials, the plaintiff sue the defendant for damages, and in criminal trials the
prosecutor, the lawyer for the government, brings charges against the defendant. The
prosecutor having already satisfied himself or herself that this is the
person who committed the crime, can really roll up their sleeves and try to
convince the jury that this is the person who should be punished. Then the
defense counsel by the same token will roll up his or her sleeves and and fight
back and say no that's not true, and really force the government to prove
each element beyond a reasonable doubt. The adversary system is a very important
way of determining truth. The idea is that through this exchange between the
prosecutor and defense, you can begin to that out what really happened in a case.
The judge is an umpire. The judge is supposed to make the legal rulings in
the case, determine what evidence is admissible or not admissible. The judge
will also tell the jury what the law is, so that the jury can concentrate on the
facts of the case. The trial begins with an opening statement. An opening
statement is the jurors' orientation to the particular case. In a criminal case,
the prosecution makes an opening statement. The defense may or may not
make an opening statement. In a civil case, usually both sides make it. Pay
attention to opening statements, that that's going to be the key to
understanding what the case is all about. It's a chance to the lawyers to
tell the jurors what they think the evidence is going to show.
After the opening statements, both sides get to present their evidence and
their witnesses, lawyers for the plaintiff or the prosecution go first.
Their questioning of the witnesses is called direct examination. The defense is
then allowed to cross-examine the witnesses. Pay close attention to what
people do on the witness stand and of course the demeanor of a particular
witness because you're evaluating not just what the witness says, but you have
to evaluate credibility. This is one of the most important roles of a jury, is
just determining whether or not something and someone is believable.
After the prosecution presents its case the defense gets its turn to call its
own witnesses who testify and may be cross-examined by the prosecution. This
is all followed by a rebuttal, often the last part of a case before the jury
gets it. The very last phase of the courtroom part of the trial is the
closing argument. Closing argument is a summary, it's like a conclusion. If you're
the prosecutor, it better line up pretty closely with that opening statement. It is
essentially a way for a prosecutor to remind the jury of all the different
pieces of evidence, and how they all fit together, or on the defense side in a
criminal case often here's how it didn't fit together. Here's how it fell apart.
The judge will then give the jury final instructions and set the framework for
deliberations. The jury takes the case to the jury room, where goes over all of the
evidence testimony and arguments to reach a verdict: guilty or not guilty in a criminal case, or finding
for the plaintiff or the defendant in a civil trial. If the jury finds for the
plaintiff, it will usually decide the amount of damages the defendant must pay after a separate hearing. Verdicts don't have to be unanimous in a criminal trial. However if
there are only six jurors, they do. It's true, while all death penalty cases must
be unanimous the Supreme Court has ruled that unanimity is not a constitutional
right. Criminal trials in federal courts and 48 states require unanimous verdicts
in felony cases, but Oregon and Louisiana do not. And verdicts and civil trials do not
have to be unanimous. If the jury cannot reach a verdict, it is called a hung
jury and a mistrial is declared. The case has not been decided and the whole thing
may have to start all over again with a brand new jury.