Officer of the court
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The generic term Officer of the court applies to all those who, in some degree in function of their professional or similar qualifications, have a legal part—and hence legal and deontological obligations—in the complex functioning of the judicial system as a whole, in order to forge justice out of the application of the law and the simultaneous pursuit of the legitimate interests of all parties and the general good of society.
They can be divided into the following functional groups; in most case various synonyms and parallels exist as well as a plethora of operational variations, depending on the jurisdiction and the changes in relevant legislation:
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[edit] Court proper
Foremost those who make the decisions that determine the course of justice and its outcome:
- judges and arbitrators
- jury, the only party without mandatory legal training, but only acting collectively
- prosecutors
- public defenders
In addition the following professionals (without such discretionary powers):
[edit] Investigation and expertise
These are, like the accidental witness, though not in chief of accidental access to relevant information but through their skills, experience and equipment, used to provide information to the actual decision makers above
- coroners and other medical experts
- other judicial experts in various fields, such as
- amicus curiae is a vague term for other persons consulted by the court
- marshall, sheriff, constable
[edit] Services to the parties
- attorneys
- bail bondsmen, who may however undertake action to capture an absconding client
