Photo courtesy Sean O'Sullivan, State of Delaware Administrative Office of the Courts

High-profile cases

This guide is intended to assist trial judges and court staff in planning for and managing high-profile cases (HPC).

Most court cases are typical civil and criminal cases, car wrecks, traffic tickets, contract disputes, drug deals and larcenies. However, occasionally a particularly heinous crime is charged, a novel or hot button issue is raised, or a well-known public figure is involved in a civil, domestic, or criminal matter that captivates public attention in a compelling way.

When this happens, whether the public attention is merited or not, the proceeding is transformed into a drama of extraordinary notoriety. Cameras are deployed to search for short sound bites, online articles produce attention-grabbing headlines and social media sites generate trending hashtags, all of which are focused on a single case, courtroom, judge, and possibly jury members.

Despite the variety of circumstances that have pushed cases into the national spotlight, some techniques have proven useful and have become best practice in high-profile cases. The guidance provided here was provided by an Advisory Committee consisting of expert trial judges, court administrators, public information officers, information technology officers, court security experts, court clerks, and others with extensive knowledge about high-profile case management.

Effective management of a high-profile case requires a broad base of skills and extensive preparation which can only be achieved by using a team of justice system professionals.