In many US TV-shows and crime-novels they refer to the court room they’re going to by the judge’s name, which otoh just implies that they are going to wherever the judge happens to be at the time.
But do they have their specific court room? Or do they have to share it with other judges? Or do they just book one that’s available at the time of the hearing/trial?
I guess this question mostly arises from American shows and novels, but if you have any input from other countries - please share.
Most judges have their own courtroom assigned to them. Some places have more judges than courtrooms, so they have to share, and some judges have to move around in their jobs, so they use what’s available, but those two alternates are the exceptions by a substantial margin.
Seems to be the way I thought it was.
Thanks for the quick answer!
In New York City, in most trial courts the judges usually have a courtroom to which they are assigned/is assigned to them on a long-term basis. This allows the judge to schedule trials, motions and other matters in the courtroom without the need to coordinate/fight with other judges. Sometimes crowding, construction and other issues will require this to vary, but pretty much each judge will have a courtroom.
There are, however, also some special courtrooms where judges may be temporarily assigned in addition to their usual courtroom. Some courts have special motion or trial assignment courtrooms in which all motions or trials not assigned to a particular judge will be automatically directed. The judges of the court may sit in the motion or trial assignment courtroom on a rotating basis, and deal with matters that arise there. Small claims court is held at night in the Civil Court motion courtroom, and judges also sit there on a rotating basis. Similarly, I believe that in criminal courts, the judges sit on arraignment hearings on a rotating basis in an arraignment courtroom.
One bit of New York court terminology that you may hear (particularly if you are a Law and Order watcher) is a “Part”, as in “Supreme Court, Part 36, Hon. John Doe” on the bottom of the screen. First, in New York, the Supreme Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction where most non-minor matters, including felony trials, are heard. The Supreme Court (along with the other courts) is divided into “parts”, and essentially (with some exceptions) each part is a single judge. If something is assigned to Part 36, it means it is assigned to Judge Doe, and will be heard in Judge Doe’s courtroom. Administratively, when judicial personnel change (retirements, promotions, transfers, new elections/appointments, etc.) a new judge might be assigned to an existing part without having to individually reassign the caseload. The new judge might inherit the old judge’s courtroom, or the part with the new judge might move to a different courtroom. In the lower courts, it is fairly common for judges to be reassigned and relocated somewhat regularly, leaving their parts, courtrooms and dockets behind. In the Supreme Court, a judge may keep his or her part designation and courtroom for years or decades.
Thanks Billdo! I’ve actually wondered quite a bit about the “Part”-part and never was quite sure what it was.
Here in Saskatchewan, it’s quite different. The two trial courts are the Provincial Court, which is the intake for all criminal matters and which tries most of them, and the Queen’s Bench, which hears the most serious criminal matters and major civil matters. In neither court are the judges assigned a particular court room. The court rooms are numbered, and any judge might be assigned by the Chief Judge or Chief Justice to sit in a particular court room on any given day. Counsel may not know which judge will be hearing their case until the day before the matter comes up, or even not until they go into court.
This is particularly the case for the QB, since the judges of that court go on circuit throughout the Province. They normally spend most of their time in the judicial centre to which they’re appointed, but will be assigned to sit in other judicial centres from time to time, since not all judicial centres have a resident judge. They may also sit in some of the busier judicial centres to accommodate case-load, other judges going on holiday, and so on.
My dad was a family law judge in Texas for years and years. He had his own courtroom, and attached to it his own office (his chambers, I guess), and another area for his court coordinator (and maybe a court reporter; I can’t remember if he had a designated CR or if they circulated among judges).
What Northern Piper has to say is true in some other jurisdictions as well – Wake County’s courthouse has four courtrooms shared by something like a dozen judges, who rotate on hearing cases. (Days when they’re not on the bench, they’re reviewing motions on the major cases they’re hearing, etc.)
In New York State, the term “Supreme Court” is, confusingly, not the highest court but the trial court of general jurisdiction for major civil cases and the first court of appeal for criminal and minor civil cases. And the legal fiction is that there is only one Supreme Court for the entire state, but with sections headed by one or more judges in each county. So if your county’s elected Supreme Court judge must recuse himself, is on vacation or ill, or similar, a Supreme Court judge normally seated in a nearby county will hear the case instead – since he is officially a judge of the same court, albeit normally sitting in a section geographically located elsewhere.
Already answered, I see.
All judges in the greater Cleveland area at all levels (U.S., state and municipal) have their own courtrooms, I believe. Muni court magistrates like me don’t have our own courtrooms, but go where we’re needed, nameplate in hand. If I’m covering a judge’s docket I’ll use his or her courtroom; otherwise I use any spare courtroom or even a smaller hearing room, on occasion. The traffic and criminal arraignment dockets are always heard in courtrooms that are not assigned to any particular judge. Have nameplate, will travel.
Lots of input and different experiences!
Thank you all. I will now be able to shine when watching the next L&O-episode with my flatmate 
our judges don’t even have nameplates. in qb, the name is on the docket list. in provincial court, if you don’t recognise the judge, you ask the clerk or other counsel.
Nameplates would be helpful. I handled a matter in front of one judge who was nice enough to introduce himself to me (the other party’s lawyer was known to the judge, so no introduction was needed there), but most judges haven’t. I end up either checking the judge’s name on the docket outside the courtroom; or if no judge is named on that document (sometimes, the day’s presiding judge is listed as “TBA”), having to ask the court clerk or other counsel who the judge for this courtroom is today.
Interestingly, I handled a chambers application the other day in front of a judge who was in another city. They had a webcam/monitor setup in the courtroom–and, appropriately, the monitor showing the judge was on the bench. A little odd, but quite practical, since weather conditions prevented this judge from coming from the city where he was based. Wonder if we’ll see more of this, even in good weather.
“Who’s that under the wig?” 
Felony arraignments are often handled over closed-circuit TV in our court of common pleas, to save on transportation and security costs and to reduce the risk of escape.