Written by Andy Cowan, with input from many others.
In General
Court is a serious place, in which serious things happen that affect people for the rest of their lives. Judges, district attorneys, court officers and court clerks take their jobs very seriously. Court etiquette is about respecting the seriousness and impact of what happens in court, and performing certain rituals that the people who work there expect. Please also respect the fact that many other people are in court because they, or their loved ones, are facing charges that represent some of the most serious obstacles in their lives. Some of the people there are in danger of losing their freedom for very long periods of time. Please show them respect.
What to Wear and What Not to Wear
- Don’t wear a hat, chew gum, or have anything in your mouth in the courtroom; no eating or drinking in the courtroom. Turn your cell phone off or put it on silent mode (not vibrate) before going into the courtroom
- Dress as close to “business” or “church” clothes as possible. Try to avoid wearing jeans, sweats, and track suits. Don’t wear clothes with obvious holes.
- Take your coat off indoors (to show off how dressed up you are!)
While waiting inside the courtroom
- Court officers will not allow you to read or use electronic devices in the courtroom.
- Once the judge comes out onto the bench, court officers are generally very strict about enforcing silence among spectators so that the court can conduct its business
- Do not bring any food or beverages into the courtroom, unless they are stored out of sight.
- If you must make or take a phone call, send a text message, or do anything else with your phone, step outside the courtroom.
- If you need to step outside the courtroom for any reason, wait for a pause in between cases or a conversation at sidebar. Try to avoid going out while people are talking with the judge. If you must, be very quiet.
- Stand when the court officers say, “all rise.” Sit when the court officer or the judge says, “you may be seated.”
- If you have questions for your lawyer, step outside the courtroom to talk to him/her.
If you are the defendant, or if the judge asks you a question
- If the judge speaks to you, stand up.
- If you are speaking to the judge, stand up.
- Call the judge “your Honor.” If asked a yes-or-no question, answer, “yes, your Honor” or “no, your Honor.” Call the clerk “Madam Clerk” or “Mr. Clerk.”
- After the judge and lawyers are finished, the clerk will announce the result of the hearing (even if the judge already said it) and tell you the next date. You’re not done (and can’t leave) until this happens. • If you are not sure what is happening or what the judge is talking about, ask your lawyer immediately. You only get one chance to be in front of the judge this day, so be aware of what is happening.
If somebody says something that upsets you
Avoid scoffing, giggling, huffing, making faces, or whispering with your neighbor in the courtroom. Judges find this very annoying and may order you to leave the courtroom.
What Happens When You Go To Court in Boston
Arriving at the courthouse
- All of the day’s business is scheduled for 9:00 AM, so you should arrive at about 8:30 a.m. to avoid the long line at the entrance to the courthouse.
- You will have to go through a metal detector. This will take some time so get there early. Any bags will be x-rayed. If you normally carry a knife, pepper spray, or any other weapon, leave it at home—you will not be allowed to bring it into court.
- If you have been arrested and this is your arraignment date, you must check in with the probation department before you go to the courtroom. They will ask you for some biographical information and whether you want a court-appointed lawyer. If the NLG will be representing you, just tell them you have a lawyer (they don’t care who it is).
- Arraignments are held in the first session. Go to the 5th Floor of the Boston Municipal Court (on New Chardon Street) and look for the Guild lawyers and other Occupy defendants.
- It is important that you get there early enough to meet with a Guild lawyer who can discuss possible options for resolving your case before you go into the courtroom.
When the case is called
- All of the day’s business is scheduled for 9:00 AM. Most of it does not happen at 9:00 AM. Be prepared for a long wait. The court clerks have to process paperwork from the police before your case can be brought in. Once the paper is in the courtroom, the cases are called in an order that is chosen by some combination of politics, whim, and chance.
- Your Guild lawyer will try to talk to the Assistant District Attorney before your case is called to get a sense of how seriously the ADA views the charges against you and whether or not a pre-arraignment disposition of your case can be worked out.
- When your case is called, stand up. There will be one place in the courtroom where the defendant stands. You will know where it is because it’s where everybody went before you, or your lawyer will tell you where to stand.
- The clerk will read your charges. This is the “arraignment.”
- The judge will automatically enter a “not guilty” plea for you.
- The judge will then ask the prosecutor (the ADA), “are there any requests?” This could be a request for higher bail, or an offer of a deal.
- Your lawyer may also make some motions at this point, or seek to have you released on personal recognizance or a lower bail than the ADA is asking for.
- When any motions from the lawyers are done, the court will pick a date for your next court appearance – a pretrial conference, which will be in about 4 – 6 weeks. Be sure to tell your lawyer if there are any upcoming dates that you cannot come to court (and the reason why you can’t come)
- The clerk will then say something like, “Ms. Smith, you’re released on your personal recognizance (or will set a bail, if you have previous criminal arrests or convictions). If at any time while this case is pending you’re arrested for any new charges, you could be held without bail for up to sixty days. Do you understand?”
- Occasionally, one of the lawyers may ask the judge for a “second call.” This means that they want time to sort something out later that day, but not right now. Second call doesn’t mean any particular time, just “later.” Your lawyer will explain why your case got a second call.
- After you say that you understand this, the clerk will tell you the next date.
- That’s the end, for that day. 
6 Responses to “Guide to Court Etiquette for Occupy Boston”
I know this is “court etiquette” but it needs to STOP. The system is the problem, and kissing the asses of those who define the word “idiot” doesn’t help.
An idiot does the same thing over and over and expects different results. Our courts exemplify that to a “T”. A corrupt legal system changes nothing for the better. We just keep building more prisons, and nothing improves.
When I see someone within the court system actually TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for the outcome of a case, including the destruction of families, I will change my mind. Until then, you are ALL children to me, who don’t deserve my respect. You don’t take responsibility for YOUR actions. You simply hide behind the LAW.
The LAW asks us to take responsibility for OUR actions, but can’t do the same.
Signed,
Matthew L Kees
One important addendum: Boston Municipal Court does not allow cameras or recording devices in the building (your phone is okay), and won’t check it at the door for you. Leave it at home.
*****ALSO****
DO NOT BRING CAMERAS TO THEY COURTHOUSE!
They will NOT let you bring them inside the courthouse and they will NOT hold them for you at the door. The court officers at the metal detector will tell you to put them in your car. If you don’t have a car with you, you’re going to have a big problem. Sometimes the businesses in the area will hold them for you, but it’s a potential risk of losing your camera. If you’re phone has a camera on it, don’t worry, they won’t take that away, but any regular cameras are not allowed in the courthouse, no exceptions.
The description of the proper mood and dress for court in this article is insulting to the court. We are expected to presume the court is corrupt and behaves and judges based on its social bigotry. Some of these Occupy Boston defendants are likely being framed. The best example of how to dress for court in that situation is Michael Jackson. When he was being framed he wore very interesting clothes including colorful socks and sandals to court every day. If he had gone into court crawling and groveling in a suit and tie he would have been telling the court that he believes the judge and jury are corrupt and will make decisions base on bigotry and favoritism. He was basically on trial for his life yet he had the courage to show everyone that he believes the court will be honest and the case will be decided based on the truth and the law.
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Never lie. Fight for the truth. Try to create a situation where you can tell the truth even in front of your enemy. One night I watched an Occupy Boston Kid lying to a cop about why the public address system was too loud and how nothing could be done about it. We can’t be doing that. Nobody should lie. A few years ago I hung around at Dudley Square after I witnessed a lady’s car slightly collide with a cop car to give the lady and the detectives my contact info. The cop who had been driving was pretty scary and was doing an intimidation thing at me hoping I would just leave. Later he really seemed stressed. I think it was a sort of complicated accident with no one really at fault but he was too hyped up to listen. I realized that the cop thought I was just going to lie to mess him up. I have also come to realize cops in America often come at people with full on intimidation because people go away scared and shut up whereas if the cop had been nicer they would not be afraid and would be more likely to turn on the cop and file a complaint against him. Machiavelli pretty much explains how all this works. But we have got to stop this.
I just know there is something totally rotten here. I wish we could have Congressional hearings to investigate the police, the Mayor’s office, the unions, the Occupy movement, the National Lawyers Guild and the Democrat Party. I wish we could get all these people under oath. America needs a Senator McCarthy so we can find out what is going on so we can get our country back.
on December 17th, 2011 at 10:35 pm #
[…] you’re going to paint a Occupy transformation in court, Occupy Boston has a few suggestions: Court practice is about respecting a earnest and impact of what happens in court, and behaving […]