Justice
Information about going to court
Victims Services
The courtroom: Local Court
What does a courtroom look like?
CCTV
Magistrate
Witness
Court Reporter/
Monitor
Interpreter
Court Officer
Accused Person
Defence Lawyer
Prosecutor
Sheriff’s Officer
Support Person
Media
Public Gallery
Who is who at court?
Accused Person
The accused person is the person who
was arrested and charged for the crime.
The accused will usually sit in a section
called the dock, or behind the bar table.
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
Some witnesses can give evidence by
CCTV from a remote location.
Court Reporter/Monitor
Court staff record audio of the hearing
and some write down or type what is
being said.
Court Officer
Court Officers help the Magistrate and
people coming into the courtroom.
Some court staff help with the paperwork
and direct people to where to sit inside
the courtroom. Court staff give the oath
or affirmation to the witnesses, which is a
promise to tell the truth.
Defence Lawyer
The defence lawyer is the solicitor or
barrister representing the accused person.
There are sometimes several defence
lawyers representing the accused person.
Interpreter
Sometimes an interpreter will help
a witness or the accused person to
understand what is being said by
translating the question and answer
into another language. Interpreters are
arranged by the court.
Magistrate
In the Local Court and the Children’s
Court, the judicial officer is called a
Magistrate. The Magistrate wears a
black gown. You call the Magistrate
‘Your Honour’ when you are in court.
The Magistrate makes sure the hearing
is run fairly and decides whether the
accused person is guilty or not guilty of
the offence.
Media
Sometimes, journalists from the media
are allowed to sit and listen in court.
The media are allowed to write down
what is said in court and sometimes will
write this in the newspaper or report it on
the news.
Public Gallery
People from the community are
sometimes allowed to watch and listen in
court. They sit at the back of the court in
a section called the public gallery. People
in the public gallery are not allowed to
talk or interrupt the court. If the court is
closed, no one will be allowed to sit in the
public gallery.
Sheriff’s Officer
The Sheriff’s Officer is responsible for
security at the court. The Sheriff’s Officer
will sometimes scan people when they
come to court. This is to check for
anything that is not allowed in court.
Support Person
Sometimes a witness will have a support
person who can sit near them in the
courtroom. The support person doesn’t
answer the questions being asked by the
prosecutor or defence and cannot help
the witness to answer the questions.
Witness
The witness is a person who knows
something about the case. The prosecutor
and the defence ask the witness questions
about what they know. Witnesses are not
allowed to talk about the case to other
witnesses.
Prosecutor
In the Local Court, the prosecutor is a
specially trained police officer but does
not wear a police uniform. Sometimes,
the prosecutor is a solicitor from the Office
of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
© State of New South Wales through Victims Services, Department of Justice, October 2012 (REV 09/2015). This work may be freely reproduced for personal, educational
and government purposes. Permission must be received from the Department for all other uses.
Alternative formats of this information is available.
This document has been prepared by the Victims Services for general information purposes. Page 2 of 2
(FS36b • REV 09/2015)
Information about going to court The courtroom: Local Court