And in Domestic Relations, child custody issues may prompt a bifurcated trial. Written statement explaining facts of case and laws that apply. Proceedings held in chambers are rarely open to the press, and only by permission of the judge. The first pleading in a civil case filed by the plaintiff. It alleges the material facts and legal theories to support the plaintiff's claim against the defendant.
Commissioners are frequently full time judicial officers appointed by the presiding judge.
A member of a judge's staff in charge of keeping the court records and exhibits. The clerk generates a Minute Entry after each proceeding. A person who works with a judge's staff to transcribe by shorthand or record stenographically the testimony during court proceedings. A written criminal charge, usually filed before a magistrate, that the defendant has committed a specified criminal offense. An order of the Court given in civil cases.