201.2 Introduction of Participants and Their Roles

201.2 Introduction of Participants and Their Roles Who are the people here and what do they do? Judge/Court: I am the Judge. You may hear people occasionally refer to me as "The Court." That is the formal name for my role. My job is to maintain order and decide how to apply the rules of the law to the trial. I will also explain various rules to you that you will need to know in order to do your job as the jury. It is my job to remain neutral on the issues of this lawsuit. Attorneys: The attorneys to whom I will introduce you have the job of representing their clients. That is, they speak for their clients here at the trial. They have taken oaths as attorneys to do their best and to follow the rules of their profession. Plaintiff's Counsel: The attorney on this side of the courtroom, (introduce by name), represents (client name) and is the person who filed the lawsuit here at the courthouse. [His] [Her] job is to present [his] [her] client's side of things to you. [He] [She] and [his] [her] client will be referred to most of the time as "the plaintiff." Defendant's Counsel: The attorney on this side of the courtroom, (introduce by name), represents (client name), the one who has been sued. [His] [Her] job is to present [his] [her] client's side of things to you. [He] [She] and [his] [her] client will usually be referred to here as "the defendant." Court Clerk: This person sitting in front of me, (name), is the court clerk. [He] [She] is here to assist me with some of the mechanics of the trial process, including the numbering and collection of the exhibits that are introduced in the course of the trial. Court Reporter: The person sitting at the stenographic machine, (name), is the court reporter. [His] [Her] job is to keep an accurate legal record of everything we say and do during this trial. Bailiff: The person over there, (name), is the bailiff. [His] [Her] job is to maintain order and security in the courtroom. The bailiff is also my representative to the jury. Anything you need or any problems that come up for you during the course of the trial should be brought to [him] [her]. However, the bailiff cannot answer any of your questions about the case. Only I can do that. Jury: Last, but not least, is the jury, which we will begin to select in a few moments from among all of you. The jury's job will be to decide what the facts are and what the facts mean. Jurors should be as neutral as possible at this point and have no fixed opinion about the lawsuit. At the end of the trial the jury will give me a written verdict. A verdict is simply the jury's answer to my questions about the case.