The group of private offices provided for the judge and his or her personal staff is referred to as the judge's chambers or judicial suite. Personal staff may include a judicial secretary, minute clerk or calendaring clerk, law clerk, court reporter, and bailiff, depending upon the type and size of the court. The judges' chambers must accommodate meetings and conferences with staff and attorneys, legal research and study, preparation and review of case files, preparation of opinions, storage of case files, informal hearings, reception and screening of visitors, telephone answering, typing, and filing. Judges and judicial personnel may include justices, judges, magistrates, commissioners, hearing officers, referees, judges pro tem, visiting judges, retired judges, or senior judges.
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Chamber Set |
Trial Judges' Chambers
Atrial judge should have ample and efficient office space, because time not spent on the bench is usually spent in chambers. When not presiding in the courtroom, the judge's work includes legal study and review of the law, preparation of opinions or judgments, preparation for upcoming hearings or trials, review and study of case files and records, and meeting and conferences with court staff and attorneys.
Active cases are often discussed and decided in chambers, and, therefore, adequate space should be provided to comfortably accommodate several visitors. Space requirements range from 250 to 500 square feet, depending upon the location of judicial conference areas, the size of the judge's personal library, and space standards agreed to by the court.
Appellate Judges' Chambers
Because an appellate judge spends most of his or her time in chambers, this space should be comfortable, functional, and ample. Appellate judges spend a great amount of time performing legal research, drafting opinions, and reading. While they will not hold hearings in their chambers, they do need space to hold small conferences with other judges and attorneys. They also need to confer regularly with their law clerks.
Appellate judges generally have a secretary and one or two law clerks. Space is needed for reception and waiting, a secretarial workstation, private offices for law clerks, and case files and office supplies. A small private library may be included in the judge's private office or as part of the chambers. A separate small conference room may also be desirable.
Because of the status of appellate judges and the prestige of the court, the space requirements are slightly larger than for general trial court judges. Approximately 400 to 500 net square feet (NSF), including a private toilet, is considered adequate for the appellate judge's private office.
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Historic Harris County, Texas Courthouse Judge's Chamber |
Planning and Design Considerations
The location, size, and furnishings of the judge's private office should reflect the dignity and importance of the position. The court’s chief or administrative judge may require additional space, reflecting the judge's added administrative responsibilities.
There should be sufficient space in the judge's personal office for study, case preparation, and a personal library of reference materials. The office also needs to accommodate conferences between judges, attorneys, and court staff. Generally, space requirements range from 250 to 500 square feet, depending upon the location of judicial conference areas, the size of the judge's personal library, and space standards agreed to by the court.
Appellate judges generally have a secretary and one or two law clerks. Space is needed for reception and waiting, a secretarial workstation, private offices for law clerks, and case files and office supplies. A small private library may be included in the judge's private office or as part of the chambers. A separate small conference room may also be desirable.
Much of the judge's work requires a quiet and distraction-free environment. The chambers should have windows for natural lighting and visual relief. The office should also be soundproof and relatively quiet as conversations with attorneys and litigants regarding pending cases need to be confidential. Environmental controls for the office should be located within the chambers.
All judicial offices should be fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
Judges need easy and quick access to their courtroom. This generally means that their chambers should be close to the courtrooms to permit them to retire to their private office to handle other matters, during recesses or other breaks in courtroom proceedings. This, however, does not require the chambers to be immediately attached to the courtroom. Chambers may be located across a private corridor from the courtroom or in a judicial suite on the same or separate floor. Where the chambers are separated from the courtrooms, it is common to have a small robing room, conference room, or office located adjacent to the courtroom for the judge to use for private conferences or to conduct business during short recesses when it is inconvenient to return to chambers.
it is often more convenient and flexible for future organizational changes to have judges' chambers organized into judicial suites slightly apart from the courtrooms, even on a separate floor. The clustering of judicial chambers permits the pooling of resources and staff and may enhance security.
The judge's private office should easily be accessible to the courtrooms through a private corridor or elevator. The public should be able to visit the judge's private office by passing through a security checkpoint or secure reception area before entering the private corridor.
Judges should be able to enter and exit the courthouse inconspicuously. There should be a private corridor/elevator from the judge's parking area to the judge's chamber. The chambers should be equipped with a silent duress alarm, located inconspicuously at the desk, that will alert a central security control station of an emergency.
The chambers may directly adjoin the secretary's and law clerk's offices, but should have an alternate access that enables the judge to enter the private corridor without passing through the secretary's office. This dual access permits the judge an escape route in case of an emergency.
The judge's private office is usually furnished with a desk, work surface, bookcases, small conference table, sofa, and side chairs. The furnishings should be appropriate to the decorum of the office and may include national and state flags.
It should be assumed that every work station, or office, will require a computer workstation with video display monitor(s), a printer, and document scanner. Many workstations will require dual monitors. Other devices that may need to be accommodated include telephone, phone chargers, battery chargers, and computer tablets. Each workstation will require a minimum of two quadriplex electrical outlets and one dedicated computer power receptacle, two data jacks and one phone jack (3 CAT6 lines). Specialized workstations may require additional electrical outlets. Because of the heat generated by electrical equipment, steps should be taken to ensure that equipment is cooled. Plans should include room for considerable growth in electrical demand.
Judicial offices also may require a television or cable connection, facsimile machine, audio-recording equipment for note taking and playback, and photocopier.