Court Procedure in the United States

Practical Information

Note: Some of this information was last updated in 1982

The method by which the court operates. All court proceedings are conducted for and on behalf of the litigants (see parties to an action (in U.S. law)) by attorneys at law. It is permissible for a party to a lawsuit to represent himself in court, but a layman seldom has the required technical knowledge. Court actions consist of a series of written statements of the claims and defenses of the parties to a court action. These written statements are known professionally as pleadings (in U.S. law).

Court proceedings vary from a simple hearing in the judge’s office to a full dress jury trial. In an informal hearing in the judge’s chambers, only the judge (or on occasion the special master assigned), the litigants, and their attorneys are present. In a more formal courtroom hearing, the litigants, their attorneys, and the presiding judge are joined by the clerk of the court (in U.S. law), the court reporter, and one or more bailiffs.

At a jury trial, before the judge arrives, the plaintiffs and their attorneys and the defendants and their attorneys are present in the courtroom along with the court reporter, a bailiff, and any members of the public who want to attend. All present stand while the jury is brought into the courtroom and seated in the jury box. Everyone then rises at the order of the bailiff and remains standing until the judge has entered the courtroom and is seated behind the bench.

The clerk declares the court in session and announces the first case. The plaintiff, if it is a civil case, or the prosecution, if it is a criminal case, begins by making an opening statement (in U.S. law). Sometimes the defense attorney will make an opening statement immediately after that. The prosecution or the plaintiff then presents his or her evidence. Witnesses are called and questioned in turn by the plaintiff’s attorney or the prosecution, as the case may be.

The defendant’s attorney has a turn to cross-examine the same witness. Afterward, the prosecution or plaintiff may ask further questions of the witness on what is called redirect examination. Redirect is limited to questioning on matters brought up on crossexamination (in U.S. law). Occasionally redirect examination is followed by a recrossexamination by the defendant’s attorney. Upon completion of the evidence for his or her side, the plaintiff or prosecution rests. The same routine is followed by the defendant’s case in brief. When both sides have completed presenting all of their evidence, the attorneys present their closing arguments to the jury.

Finally, before the jury retires to deliberate on the evidence, the judge gives a charge to the jury (in U.S. law). The jury may ask the judge for further instructions. Otherwise, the case is complete when they return with their verdict. In a criminal case, the judge may sentence the defendant immediately upon the return of a guilty verdict, or he or she may defer sentencing.

(Revised by Ann De Vries)

Court Procedure in Supreme Court Cases

This case was argued on October 3, 2011. It raised the issue of whether a claim for federal preemption can be brought directly under the Constitution. Federal law imposes requirements on states participating in the federal Medicaid program, but no statute authorizes lawsuits against states that don’t comply. In Maxwell-Jolly v. Calif. Pharmacists Ass’n (596 F.3d 1098 (9th Cir. 2010), cert. granted, 131 S.Ct. 992 (2011)), the lower courts held that a cause of action for preemption does not need specific statutory authorization. If the Supreme Court disagrees and finds that such suits cannot be brought, it will set back efforts to ensure state and local governments’ compliance with federal law.

The Supreme Court, in 2011, also considered whether a cause of action exists to sue guards at private prisons for violating inmates’ constitutional rights (Pollard v. The GEO Group Inc., 629 F.3d 843 (9th Cir. 2010), cert. granted sub nom. Minneci v. Pollard, 131 S.Ct. 2449 (2011)). Forty years before 2011, in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (403 U.S. 388 (1971)), the Court held that federal officials may be sued for constitutional violations even though no statute creates such a cause of action. The circuits were, in 2011, split as to whether this rule applies to officers at private prisons.

The issue of sovereign immunity was at the center of Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals (626 F.3d 187 (4th Cir. 2010), cert. granted, 131 S.Ct. 3059 (2011)), in which the Supreme Court considered whether a state may be sued for violating the self-care provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1)(D)).

What is Court Procedure?

For a meaning of it, read Court Procedure in the Legal Dictionary here. Browse and search more U.S. and international free legal definitions and legal terms related to Court Procedure.