You’re Invited –
Have you ever wondered whether a Wyoming courtroom bears any resemblance to Judge Judy’s on TV?
Did you know there are trials and hearings in each District and Circuit Court in your local county courthouse nearly every day? Have you considered whether the cases in front of the Wyoming Supreme Court are anything like those the United States Supreme Court decides?
You’ve read the headlines, but how do you know exactly what a judge, jury, or justice decided in any given case, and why?
It’s easy to find out.
Wyoming Courts are, and always have been, open to the public. With limited exceptions (mostly in cases involving juvenile abuse and neglect and juvenile delinquency, which are confidential according to statute), you are invited to sit in the courtrooms in your communities to watch trials and other court proceedings.
Many proceedings are now also livestreamed.
Either way, you are welcome to watch attorneys and judges in action and the jury system at work. Visiting a courtroom and serving on a jury are great ways to gain firsthand knowledge of the types of legal disputes that affect your friends, neighbors, local businesses, and law enforcement. The cases are many and varied—the courtrooms are for the people, not just the litigants.
You can find the address and other contact information for your local courts here.
One week out of every month (except for July) the Wyoming Supreme Court hears attorneys present legal arguments in cases where one of the parties has appealed, challenging the decision of the trial court.
Again, with limited exceptions, these proceedings are open to the public.
You are welcome to attend in person at the Supreme Court Building in Cheyenne. If you’re not able to attend, you can listen to a livestream of the arguments. The oral argument schedule, the livestream link, the parties’ legal briefs, and the Court’s decisions all are available on the Wyoming Judicial Branch website.
Those who serve in the courtroom and on the bench work at the most public desk in state government.
On behalf of the Wyoming Judicial Branch, we welcome and encourage the public to visit our trial courts and Supreme Court. Please step inside and see for yourself how justice is administered in our great State!
Sincerely,
The Wyoming Judicial Council on behalf of the Wyoming Judicial Branch
