Officer of the court

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:

Court proper

Foremost those who make the decisions that determine the course of justice and its outcome:

• judges, magistrates and arbitrators
• jury, the only party without mandatory legal training, but only acting collectively
• prosecutors

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, medical examiners, 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
  • marshal, sheriff, constable
• bail bondsmen

Services to the parties

• Attorneys^[1]
• Bail bondsmen, who may however undertake action to capture an absconding client
• Interpreters/translators are not generally considered officers of the court, although they do render their services to the parties in the interests of the court proceedings. However, there are exceptions where interpreters may be employed on a permanent basis by courts to act as interpreters when called upon, e.g. International Court of Justice and the European Court of Justice. In some jurisdictions court interpreters may also be deemed as officers of the court pro tempore. Court interpreters and translators have an absolute ethical duty to tell judges the truth and avoid evasion.
• Court Appointed Special Advocates in some jurisdictions are considered officers of the court.
• Process servers carry out service of process. In some jurisdictions they are appointed by a court and are considered appointed officers of the court.

Sources and References

• Law.com
• Publications bibliography