Rule 3.040.Advice to Clients and Witnesses of Courtroom Formalities
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 3.040
Plain-English Summary
This is a preparation duty, and it belongs to the lawyer. Attorneys must advise clients and witnesses of the formalities of the court and must encourage their cooperation. The duty covers people attending in person and people attending by remote means, so the phone call before a video hearing counts as much as the walk down the hallway before trial.
Self-represented parties carry the same obligation toward their witnesses. A party without a lawyer is not excused from the briefing; the rule shifts it onto the party.
The rule does not list the formalities. The rest of this chapter supplies most of them: how people dress and what appears on a remote screen, rising to address the court, staying out of the bar of the courtroom, the ban on first names, and the requirement that nobody reacts audibly or visibly to a verdict. A short warning before a hearing prevents most of the problems those rules exist to address. Note what the rule asks for: advise and encourage. It does not make you responsible for a witness who ignores the advice, and it sets no penalty of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I have to tell my witnesses before they come to court?
The formalities of the court, and you must encourage their cooperation. The rule does not itemize the formalities, so the practical content comes from the rest of this chapter: dress, rising to address the court, forms of address, where people may sit, and behavior when a verdict is returned.
Does this apply if my client is appearing by video?
Yes. The rule covers clients and witnesses attending in person or by remote means.
Remote attendance has its own formalities, including the requirement in UTCR 3.010 that the screen other participants see does not detract from the dignity of court.
I am representing myself. Does this rule apply to me?
It does, as to your witnesses. Self-represented parties must advise their witnesses of the court's formalities and encourage their cooperation, the same way an attorney would.
Am I responsible if my witness breaks a decorum rule anyway?
The rule asks you to advise and to encourage cooperation. It does not make you the guarantor of your witness's behavior, and it attaches no penalty to a witness who disregards what you said.
The court still controls the courtroom and applies the decorum rules to the person in front of it.
When should I give the advice?
The rule sets no deadline. Because the point is to prevent a problem rather than to fix one, the useful moment is before the client or witness first appears, whether that appearance is in the courtroom or on a screen.