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13 Oyez Oyez Bull. Sec. Jud. Admin. 1 (1970)

handle is hein.journals/oyzoyz13 and id is 1 raw text is: The Bulletin of the Section of Judicial Administration@ oyez! oyez! VOL. 13, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 1970 CHAIRMAN'S COLUMN To the Members of the Section of Judicial Administration The rank and file of judges, like most members of the Bar and indeed the public generally, has been shaken by news media reports of recent courtroom incidents in the cities of Chicago, New York and Washington. Since the accounts all refer to proceedings in trial courts, which ' are now or probably will be subject to the review of appellate courts, there will be no attempt here to hexamine the events of any trial or to assess them. But there has been a I wave of protest in the wake of the Judge Frank J. Murray reports raising grave questions con- cerning the judicial process, which cannot be ignored. It may be objected that the news accounts are inaccurate and exaggerated, but all that is at this time beside the point. What is important is the nature of the protest, and the mood of those who speak out. Only a comparative few are touched by the law in action, but the administration of justice is a matter of great public concern every day. Citizens have the right to expect the system of criminal justice, which they support and maintain, will continue effective and to the purpose ordained for it. And whenever their confidence in the judicial process is shaken, they naturally turn to the legal profession to suggest sound solutions for the ills that beset it. When, therefore, judges, lawyers and laymen, as with one voice, express concern for what they read in news reports as a challenge to our traditional system of justice, and call for action by the Bench and Bar to meet it, they indulge neither in overblown rhetoric nor over-reaction. What they call for is unequivocal reaffirmation and im- plementation of the fundamentals of criminal trials; in sum * That the heart of the judicial process in criminal justice, even in these changing times, is still the trial in the courtroom. * That a public trial is not to be equated with a forum for political debate, a market place for the sale of ideas, or an arena for a meeting of gladiators and their votaries. * That a fair and impartial jury is still a bulwark of individual freedom. * That the jury must have fair opportunity to do justice on the law and the evidence presented. * That the trial judge must possess and should exercise the power necessary to prevent frustration of the purposes of the trial, and to direct it to a fair and impartial result. What is expected of the courtroom process is that a result be reached in every case swiftly, peaceably, fairly, according to a true ascertainment of the facts and applica- tion of a just system of laws. This view of a criminal trial, admittedly, is the laboratory view, a neat and uncompli- cated vision of courtroom justice. It is incomplete, how- ever because it does not include reference to those whose misconduct - or conduct - may put in jeopardy the proceedings. Essential to the trial process in action is an atmosphere of dignified calm and order. It must be recognized, of course, that measured in terms of human values the stakes in a criminal case are high. Frequently, the whole course of the proceedings is susceptible of demonstrative outbursts. Participants, members of their families and others, under the emotional stresses and tensions of the trial, often do not exercise the degree of self-control necessary to keep their actions within required bounds. Attorneys for the parties sometimes become carried away in a transport of zeal for their causes - they lose their tempers, and say and do things violative of the fundamental rules of decorum. Disorders of such character usually are quickly ended without the necessity of the judge doing more than to remind the offender he is out of order, and to cease and desist his transgression. Whenever the degree of disorder threatens, however, the course of the trial, or obstructs or thwarts its purposes, it must be viewed as subversive of the judicial process. The persons guilty of the disruption must be held accountable. All appropriate disciplinary sanctions must be available to deter those who would consider disrupting the trial for their own purposes. There should be no reluctance or hesitation, when necessary and proper in the circumstances, to subject the offenders to loss of liberty or of the right to practice law or both. In the setting of disorder the burdensome role of the judge must not be underrated. As the directing and controlling mind of the trial, he is primarily responsible for good order in the courtroom - not as a policeman, but as the central figure embodying the majesty of the law. Under his direction and control, the trial of a criminal case is more than a science, it is an art and, perhaps, never more visible as an art than when good order is restored to the courtroom by his firm and careful guidance. His is the difficult task of holding the proceedings of the trial true to a course which will give the jury a fair chance to do justice. Recognizing the importance of the role of the trial judge in a criminal case, a study of his function had been undertaken, by a committee of the Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, before the impact of the news accounts referred to aroused the profession and the public alike. The scope of that study has now been expanded to embrace consideration of the protests raised against disruptive courtroom incidents. (continued on page 3)

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