Court administration in high-profile cases

This guidance complements our high-profile case management recommendations. 

Ensuring fair & efficient court operations 

Court administration is responsible for overseeing and coordinating trial court functions, minimizing disruptions to routine court operations during a high-profile case (HPC) or trial, supervising trial support roles, and serving as the liaison with external stakeholders. Key tasks associated with high-profile cases include identifying critical personnel; developing technological infrastructures, internal and external communication networks, and a chain of command; and securing the necessary resources to support court operations during the pendency of the case. Depending on the jurisdiction, this role may be performed by the clerk of court, court executive officer, or the trial court administrator.

Preplanning

Decision making about the critical roles needed for a HPC team normally includes the trial judge, court administration, clerk of court, public information officer, Information Technology (IT) , and court security. Once roles are determined, the team should identify the staff who should be assigned.

Here is a preplanning checklist. 

• Document state and local statutes, rules, and orders regarding issues relevant to a high-profile case (i.e., televised proceedings, access to court records, media access, change of venue, etc.) and keep copies of these rules in a convenient location, such as a notebook or shared drive, that all members of the HPC team can access.
• Periodically, assess the capabilities of the facilities, technology, and security to handle the increased pressures of a high-profile case. Also consider ways to access supplemental funding to support the extra workload, if needed.
• Determine which courtroom will be used in the event of a high-profile case and use that courtroom as a starting point for facilities and security planning.

External stakeholders

The increased demands of a high-profile case will often require working with external stakeholders to handle the specifics of the case, maintain decorum, and provide additional resources. Identify all agencies intersecting with the court on logistics and establish direct lines of communication with all community partners who would be affected by a high-profile case. Partners typically include local law enforcement (i.e., sheriff's office and/or state or local police departments), state investigative agencies (i.e., bureaus of investigation), county officials, town/city administrators, agencies or tenants located in the courthouse/courthouse complex, and the grounds/facility director. Depending upon the situation, a health inspector, fire official, and the mayor may also be included.

• For cases involving terrorism, contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other relevant federal agencies to address potential security demands.
• Identify an individual to serve as the liaison to the state administrative office of the courts (AOC), local government, and local leadership (i.e., bar, community leaders, etc.) to address issues and resources regarding specific court support.
• If a high-profile case has been identified and is pending, schedule and conduct an interagency logistics meeting as soon as possible and before the critical stages of the proceedings.
• Develop a shared understanding of how the court and external stakeholder agencies will respond to media inquiries.
• Create a plan to alert external stakeholders to upcoming case events (i.e., jury selection, trial) with sufficient time for internal review and response to questions or concerns.

Operations

If courthouse access restrictions are necessary, be sure to communicate with those who use the facility on a regular basis, including the public, local attorneys, and external agencies.

• Meet with court staff, judges, and any other agencies located in the courthouse to coordinate daily workloads and routine work activities, and troubleshoot any issues that are likely to occur, such as noise and disruptions to other dockets, scheduling changes and staff reassignments, and notices to parties for cases that must be moved to other courtrooms.
• Redistribute workloads as necessary to prevent excessive stress from burdening any one person.

Staff education

• Ensure the entire court staff knows what their roles are and where to direct case-specific questions.
• Document written responsibilities for each staff position and include back-up personnel. Conduct regular staff briefings to discuss procedures, issues, etc.
• Provide appropriate training and supervision to any temporary staff hired to alleviate workloads. Ensure all staff are cross trained for proper coverage if demands change.
• Identify support and counseling services to help court staff deal with the stress and pressures that accompany high-profile trials and inform staff of these resources.
• Eliminate as much inconvenience and as many disruptions as possible for those trying to conduct normal business with the court.
• Publicize the media liaison's contact information to divert these inquiries away from the clerk's office. Also, provide this contact information to all court employees. More about media relations.

Facilities management

High-profile cases place increased stress on facility infrastructure systems. Assume that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, including power outages, plumbing problems, and other disruptions to basic facility functions. Develop procedures for addressing every conceivable emergency. Educate court staff on these procedures, including providing contact information for key personnel.

Parking & staging areas

• Identify dedicated parking for media satellite trucks in a location that will not impede normal traffic flow. Ensure the location is acceptable to local officials and does not interfere with other court business. Note: When satellite trucks are located more than 1,000 feet from the pool camera, a booster must be used to transmit the signal to the distribution box. The booster requires a power source or generator.
• Media pool audio feeds that cross a street to reach the distribution box must go overhead on poles or in troughs placed on the surface or installed underground. The location of the audio/video feed should be determined with these factors in mind: height clearance, impediment to traffic flow, safety, and expense.
• Collaborate with law enforcement to establish fenced areas to separate media staging areas from the public.
• Make or facilitate arrangements for auxiliary listening/viewing rooms for the public and the media. If rooms are unavailable in the courthouse, negotiate alternative options for trailers or adjacent buildings. Another option is to permit video and/or audio livestreaming of the proceedings to increase access and reduce potential crowds at the courthouse.

Courtroom seating

Detailed planning and strict enforcement of the seating plan between the media, the public, and the parties may limit complaints about public access, but they will never fully eliminate the problem. Even the development of a uniform seating allocation policy may be contentious. Generally, one-fourth to one-half of the seats in a courtroom are reserved for the media, with the rest of the space allocated between the parties and the public. Consider where members of the defendant's family, victims (if not testifying as witnesses), guests of the court, or other individuals will sit. Members of the defendant's family should be seated away from victims.

Jury facilities

• Start to plan for any extra space requirements that may be necessary for voir dire. (This may be a big issue if jurors are called into court to fill out juror questionnaires.)
• Plan for additional seating for alternate jurors in the jury box.
• Work with court security to determine juror an alternative entrance/parking for jurors.