Judge and Bailiff

Judges & Bailiff 's Assignment Before Trial

Before the trial begins, the judge(s) and bailiff can/should work together on a few tasks:

• Review and understand the procedure of the courtroom using the document below. It is the bailiff's job to keep the court proceedings moving along in a smooth fashion. The judges and bailiff should know their parts very well, it helps add to the professionalism of the big day at trial.
• Have a basic understanding of the events that took place at Harpers Ferry, but emphasize that the judges are NOT to make any prior judgments on the innocence or guilt of John Brown. The judges' primary job in trial is to rule on objectives by the lawyers, so a working understanding of the narrative of Harpers Ferry is beneficial, but not critical.
• Understand how to rule on objectives raised by the lawyers. Each lawyer is required to object 3-5 times and the judge(s) must rule "sustained" or "overruled." The judge(s) should know how to appropriately respond by studying the documents below prior to trial. They should also practice objecting and ruling with one another. This is when a guest speaker (lawyer or judge) is very beneficial because I do not know how to explain the nuances of the different objections as well as a lawyer can.
• Once the judges and bailiff have completed the above, I assign a research project about Supreme Court Cases that dealt with issues specifically regarding African Americans and systemic racism.

Judges and Bailiff's Assignment In Trial