A trial judge cannot manage all the administrative requirements of a high-profile case and still have the time and focus to carry out the adjudicative functions that the case demands. A HPC team should be convened as soon as it becomes apparent that a case will be high profile. Ideally, all team members will have some experience managing high-profile cases. At a minimum, all team members should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities to ensure cohesiveness and to avoid turf wars or misunderstandings.
The essential roles on the HPC team include the trial judge, the media liaison, court security, court administration, and information technology. It may be necessary for some individuals to take responsibility for multiple roles on the HPC team.
Judges:
- Depending on the state or court, the title for this role could be chief judge, president judge, administrative judge, or presiding judge. In terms of general preparedness, the chief judge’s role is responsible for assessing the court's capabilities and weaknesses to manage a high-profile case, identifying individuals with expertise to fulfill HPC team roles, and ensuring that trial court judges and court staff have the necessary training and resources to undertake their appointed tasks.
- In coordination with court administration, the chief judge is also responsible for ensuring that the high-profile case does not disrupt the smooth operation of court functions in other courtrooms. Generally, the chief judge will not be actively involved in the HPC team meetings.
Unless the court has a strict policy of random assignment after a new case is filed, the chief judge should exercise discretion when appointing a trial judge to manage the high-profile case. The trial judge should demonstrate even judicial temperament; have specialized knowledge in the case type; be widely regarded as impartial, fair, and professional; and be respected by both the bench and bar. In some states, the case may be assigned to a specific trial judge by the chief justice or the administrative head of the state court.
- The trial judge is responsible for setting the terms of the case scheduling order, maintaining effective communication with the parties and trial attorneys, deciding pretrial motions and overseeing a trial, if necessary. In addition, the judge also provides oversight of the HPC team, including setting policies for non-litigation aspects of the case, including decorum orders for media coverage and public access. The trial judge should appoint high-profile team members with expertise in court management, media relations/communications, court security, jury operations, and information technology (IT).
- Depending on the case and jurisdiction size, a court may elect to have a judge team. In this model, one judge serves as the trial judge, overseeing all aspects of the trial, including pre-trial and post-trial while another judge may serve as a media judge, dealing exclusively with media related issues.
HPC team member roles:
The trial judge should exercise overall control of the activities of the HPC team and be actively involved in planning for the high-profile case. The actual implementation of the plans should be delegated to the HPC team once the details have been established. Team members should have sufficient authority to manage their respective duties without seeking approval for minor details. Investing authority with the team to implement the collective decisions will prevent unnecessary "appeals" to the trial judge by those who do not agree with the decisions of the trial team. However, the HPC team and the trial judge should maintain a working dialogue throughout the trial, with the trial judge checking in frequently.
While not required, developing a high-profile case plan that provides standard guidelines and policies can ensure courts are ready when a high-profile case is filed with the court. Such a plan could be either incorporated into a court’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) or be a stand-alone plan. Regardless, it should be developed with the input from representatives of the HPC team but would not need to be created for each high-profile case.
The titles of each position may vary within individual court systems, but the roles will be very similar across different jurisdictions. In addition to the responsibilities listed under each role, it is important that each team member also take responsibility for ensuring their staff is properly trained in high-profile case court protocols, so staff understand what to expect while the case is pending and what is appropriate and inappropriate conduct.
A high-profile case may require the services of other trial court employees, including court reporters and court interpreters. Generally, the tasks that these individuals perform do not differ based on whether the case is high profile although the case may be more protracted than usual. The HPC team should secure the trial support services as needed, but it is generally not necessary for these individuals to participate in all HPC team meetings. The inclusion of other trial court support members should be determined by the trial judge.