Trial Courts

Trial Courts

In a courthouse with multiple courtrooms, at least one courtroom that is larger than the others usually is required for calendar calls, docket calls, arraignments, ceremonies, public meetings, or large multi-defendant trials.

High-volume initial appearance courts should be located close to the courthouse's main public entrance. These courtrooms usually have associated with them offices and work spaces for pretrial services staff, court clerks, and prosecutor and public defender staff so that detention decisions can be made quickly.

Smaller hearing rooms are suitable for arbitration and mediation, and settlement conferences. As the use of arbitration and mediation increases, many more court facilities will need to include such spaces. A major consideration in determining courtroom size is flexibility. It is often advantageous to include jury trial capabilities in all courtrooms in case the practice and procedures of non-jury courts change in the future. Additionally, while courts may be separated into civil and criminal, it may be advantageous to provide secure prisoner access to all courtrooms even courtrooms that may be used primarily for civil cases. This will permit greater flexibility in the scheduling of cases and there are occasions when in-custody individual appear in court in civil matters.

Courtroom Dimensions

The traditional courtroom is rectangular and deeper than it is wide, although modern courtrooms also include round and square shapes. The shape of the courtroom must account for the need for all participants to have clear lines of sight, including the distances between the participants and the angle that they have to turn to view others. Distance can affect acoustics and the ability to observe changes in facial expression or demeanor. Wide sight angles interfere with concentration and cause physical fatigue as participants must look back and forth. The litigation area of the courtroom should be designed to allow all participants involved in the proceedings to see and hear each other clearly.

Functionally, courtrooms are divided into two zones: the litigation (well) area and the public (spectator) areas. These areas are generally separated by a bar or low railing.

The Litigation Area

The litigation area is typically rectangular with the bench located along the front wall. Many newer courtrooms, however, are designed with a corner bench which allows the judge a better view of the courtroom and does not require as much space. Circular courtrooms once popular during the 1970s and sometimes are considered appropriate for hearings where the adversarial nature of the proceeding needs to be de-emphasized, such as in custody and support cases. They tend, however, to diminish the formal nature of the proceedings and the judicial image.

The width of the litigation area permits isolation of individuals from improper influence. Even small hearing rooms need sufficient space to separate parties. The depth of the litigation area is determined partly by whether a jury box is included and partly by the need to separate the judge's bench and attorneys' tables. This separation is necessary both to provide adequate circulation within the litigation area and to give prominence to the judge and his or her role in the proceedings.

The Public Gallery

The size of the public gallery, or spectator seating area, is often determined by the size of the jury panel. For a 14-person jury, this would usually be 40 to 60 persons, while for a 7-person jury, the panel may consist of 20 to 30 persons. In addition, 15 to 20 seats should be provided for the general public, family members, and the press. Thus, total capacity in a 14-person jury courtroom will be typically 55 to 80, and in a 7-person jury courtroom, 35 to 50. A useful ratio is four seats for every juror in 14-person jury courtrooms, and five to one in 7-person jury courtrooms.

A typical planning average is nine to twelve square feet per person, with the lower figure used for larger courtrooms and the higher figure used for smaller courtrooms and hearing rooms. For example, if a courtroom is planned to hold 70 spectators, 630 square feet should be allowed (9 ft. x 70 ft.). If voir direis not conducted in the courtroom, spectator seating can be reduced.

Courtroom Ceiling Height

The height of the courtroom should be proportional to the room's size for symbolic and environmental reasons, and it should provide appropriate distance from the ceiling for a judge standing at the bench. The head of a six-foot judge standing on a raised dais of approximately 21 to 24 inches would be eight feet above floor level. Ceiling heights of 11 feet or less would make the judge appear too close to the ceiling, but excessively high ceilings can create acoustical problems.

In courtrooms of 1,700 square feet or less, ceiling heights should be 14-16 feet. In larger courtrooms, ceiling heights should be 16-18 feet. Another way of handling courtroom ceiling heights is to have a higher ceiling over the litigation area than over the spectator seating area, if this variance in ceiling height does not adversely affect the room's acoustics.

Courtroom Ceiling Heights