Going to the Courthouse (Part 1)
If a case doesn’t settle by agreement, arbitration, or mediation after a lawsuit is filed, the Parties end up at the Courthouse for a Trial. There are several courthouses in Clark County. The “main” Courthouse in downtown Las Vegas is called the Regional Justice Center. It is actually three Courts in one: Las Vegas Municipal Court, Las Vegas Justice Court and the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Eighth Judicial District Court for Clark County, Nevada.
The Courthouse is divided into five main areas (located, roughly on the floors as listed): Municipal Courtrooms on the 5th and 6th floors; Las Vegas Justice Court Courtrooms on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors; Eighth Judicial District Court for Clark County on the 10th through 16th floors, Nevada; the Nevada Supreme Court (17th floor); and administration (the rest of the building). The floors are approximate due to the rapid expansion in Clark County Nevada and do not include some Courtrooms that are in the Phoenix Building across the street from the Regional Justice Center. There are four courtrooms per floor, designated “A” – “D”. I suggest checking the Courtroom’s location before getting on an elevator.
The Court Rooms in the Regional Justice Center have two basic set ups – each set up is a mirror of the other. Some Judges have modified the set up to better serve the legal process for their particular Courtrooms. A typical set up at the Regional Justice Center looks like this:
The Gallery is where anyone interested in watching Trials, Motions, or other activity in the Court Room sits. It’s also where Attorneys sit waiting for their turn to be called into the main part of the Court room. The line in the middle of the drawing is called “the bar” and is the entrance to the remainder of the Court Room – the part where all of the action takes place. This includes the witness stand, the Jury box, the Judge’s bench, the bailiff’s station, and the area where I work, including the Parties’ tables and the open area where I, as an Attorney, stand to address the Court, the Jury and the witnesses.
Other than the Judge and his or her staff, everyone enters from the back of the Court Room into the Gallery. No one is allowed beyond the Bar without the permission of the Court. Lawyers are “members of the Bar” since we work in the area beyond the bar. Where the Parties sit in the Court Room is established by tradition. In a Civil Trial, the Plaintiff normally sits closer to the Jury than the Defendant. In a Criminal Trial, the Defendant sits closer to the Jury than the Prosecution. The witnesses – whether they are Parties, lay witnesses who have factual information, or expert witnesses – testify from the witness stand. Witnesses address their answers to questions to the Judge if it a Bench Trial or the Jury if it is a Jury Trial.
I will continue this discussion in my next post.|
