A Level Academy Islamabad
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00:00Whether it's a football team, Broadway production, factory line, or fire department, each person has their defined roles.
00:08The same is true in court, of course.
00:10Everyone from the bailiff to the court reporter has a job to do.
00:14But the judge and the jury are the most crucial roles in court.
00:18If you find yourself in a jury trial, at the very least you should know what the roles of the judge and the jury are.
00:25Although you undoubtedly have the gist,
00:28certainty usually wins the day in the courtroom.
00:30So let's break down the role of the judge first. Even in a jury trial, the judge still wears many hats.
00:37Metaphorical hats, of course. First and foremost, the judge is an independent, impartial decision-maker in the pursuit of justice.
00:45Each side makes its arguments and presents the facts and evidence that it wants the jury to consider.
00:50It's up to the judge to oversee it all without bias. The judge is the ruler of the courtroom.
00:55She decides all matters of courtroom procedure. She also decides all legal issues, including ruling on evidentiary objections.
01:03When the judge sustains an objection to evidence,
01:06it means she agrees with the party objecting and the evidence or testimony is disallowed. If she overrules the objection,
01:13it means she disagrees with the party objecting and the evidence will come in.
01:17Sometimes some evidence questions are settled beforehand through the judge's decisions on pre-trial motions.
01:23But often the evidentiary issues cannot be predicted in advance and must be ruled on during the trial.
01:29Another part of the judge's duty is to act as a guide for the jury.
01:32The judge will instruct the jury about the law before the jury's verdict so that they make the most informed decision possible.
01:39Juries are assembled to determine if someone is liable or not liable in a case based on the evidence that has been admitted and
01:46only on that evidence. This makes the jury, in stuffy lawyer speak, the trier of fact.
01:52If the jury does find the defendant liable, they must also decide how much in damages the defendant must pay.
01:59There are cases where a jury is not permitted or where the parties have waived a trial by jury.
02:04The judge plays both the normal role of a judge,
02:07but is also the trier of fact. The judge decides both the legal issues and the factual issues.
02:14This can be more streamlined and efficient,
02:16but it also has its drawbacks. For one, the decision is being made by one person, not six.
02:22It also presents the problem that the judge may rule certain evidence inadmissible.
02:27But unlike a jury, the judge has already seen the evidence that the trier of fact should not see.
02:33The law presumes that the judge has the ability that jurors do not to resist the temptation of being influenced by inadmissible evidence.
02:40By the way, trying the case without a jury is called a bench trial.
02:44It's called that because, confusingly enough, the elevated desk the judge sits behind is not called a desk or a table, but a bench.
02:52Even more confusingly, the judge sits on a chair, not a bench.
02:57But the word comes from the days when judges actually sat on benches.
03:01Anyway, you could say that in a bench trial, the only one getting benched is the jury.
03:06Don't let yourself get sidelined by a lack of knowledge on how the game is played.
03:11Call on LegalYou.
03:14LegalYou. Where the courtroom is not just for lawyers.