Everyone knows what a Bailiff is. If you’d seen Judge Judy, Bailiff Byrd is always standing by in her courtroom. What most people don’t know is what they do exactly, besides just being in the background.
The Bailiff is responsible for courtroom security, which includes themselves, the judge, clerks and everybody else in the courtroom. Multi tasking is a huge part of the job. Security and safety is the absolute priority, but it is just one of many tasks at hand. Different courtrooms have different calendars and cases that are split between civil and criminal. Each courtroom has a team that runs it either well or poorly. The team consists of the Judge, Clerk, and Bailiff. They do not have any dog in the fight, if you will. The Judge hears the case and makes a ruling based on the law, the Clerk makes sure everything is done correctly and is recorded, the Bailiff maintains order and in charge of movement in the courtroom.
What you normally see on TV and films are either civil trials and jury trials. It’s only a small glimpse of what really goes on in the justice system. I’ll go into the courts in depth on a later post.
Back to Bailiff’s. On a daily basis, depending on the courtroom assignment and calendar, they make sure the courtroom is free of any possible dangerous objects or hazards. They address members of the public, defendants, witnesses, jurors, attorneys, pretty much everybody who comes through the courtroom doors; where to sit and what to do, when to do it. They also are in charge of moving inmates into and out of the courtroom. They constantly enforce the law and court rules that are in place. Paperwork, yes that’s part of it too. Every defendant that has completed their case either by pleading guilty or are found guilty after trial gets a set of paperwork that has instructions on their sentence and probation.
Bailiffs are usually alone in their courtrooms and therefore have to be always ready to react to anything that happens in their courtroom, their partners’ courtroom or anywhere in and around the courthouse. They are at foremost, the first responders of the court system.
I am currently a Bailiff and I take my job seriously because the lives of others depends on me know what to do when things go sideways.
I may have a steady schedule, which is nice; but there’s nothing routine about what I do everyday. It’s just like there’s no such thing as a ‘routine car stop’. Some may think that this assignment is boring and yes, it could be. I however, enjoy it because I learn something new everyday. I get to see cases from the start to finish and how our justice system really works. Our system is far from perfect, but in my opinion, it’s far better than in most other nations.
A lot of stories will come my experience here in the court system and there’s plenty of them!