What to Do When Trainee Attorneys Are Denied Entry to the Courtroom

The JRF's monthly "Judicial Reform ER" frequently receives inquiries of all shapes and sizes. While not necessarily amounting to grievances, most ordinary citizens feel unfamiliar and bewildered when approaching the judicial system.

Even individuals with a sound understanding of legal knowledge often encounter frustration and obstacles when first interacting with the judicial system. For instance, when novice trainee attorneys follow their supervising attorneys to court, the JRF has received sporadic reports of them being blocked by prosecutors and judges.

The reported grievances are as follows:

• The prosecutor handling the investigation proceeding asked the trainee attorney to leave on the grounds that trainee attorneys are not permitted to observe. 
  
  
• In a criminal case involving offenses against sexual autonomy where the victim had not yet arrived, the presiding judge nevertheless exercised their discretion to determine that the presence of a trainee attorney was inappropriate and ordered them to leave the courtroom. 
  
  
• In family law cases involving matters related to minors, trainee attorneys were also asked to leave due to the objection of a party. 
  

Although prosecutors and judges did not make these decisions entirely without reasons, can trainee attorneys really not attend court sessions? How are they supposed to learn practical handling skills for these types of cases? Such questions inevitably arise among newly minted attorneys.

The JRF has compiled useful information currently available on the Taiwan Bar Association's official website:

1. Ministry of Justice Official Letter on "Adding Seating for Trainee Attorneys in Investigation Courtrooms"

https://www.twba.org.tw/regulation/government/0d1527c7-b2cf-41b9-a0e4-8c826aaf4a07

The Ministry of Justice's official letter (Ref. Fa-Chien-Chueh-Tzu No. 10204560530) dated November 20, 2013, explains that official letters dated July 19, 1993 (Ref. Fa-82-Chueh-Tzu No. 14779) and July 21, 2008 (Ref. Fa-Chien-Chueh-Tzu No. 0970802610) both affirm that "where trainee attorneys, during their practical training period, accompany their supervising attorneys to observe in the courtroom or during investigations, the relevant obligations and rules regarding the maintenance of courtroom or investigative order that apply to supervising attorneys shall apply mutatis mutandis."

If you encounter obstruction in an investigation courtroom again, remember that you can pull out this official letter!

2. Judicial Yuan's Response dated December 25, 2012, to the Taiwan Bar Association Regarding "Whether Trainee Attorneys May Accompany Supervising Attorneys into Family Court or Participate in Other Proceedings That Are Not Open to the Public by Law"

https://www.twba.org.tw/study/regulations/10162ce7-4780-40a8-9192-16eb862b78de

Where a trainee attorney, due to learning requirements, needs to accompany a supervising attorney acting as defense counsel, private prosecutor's agent, or litigation agent to enter the courtroom to observe, they may state this to the presiding judge or judge handling the case, and the presiding judge or judge shall decide after considering the circumstances of the specific case.

Therefore, indeed, in the previously mentioned grievance cases where the judge in the family law proceeding ultimately did not permit the trainee attorney to attend, there was a basis for it. However, because each case's circumstances differ, communicating and striving for it with the court when necessary is entirely appropriate!

After conducting a thorough inquiry, we found that newly minted trainee attorneys encounter varied situations. In April 2025, the JRF also raised this issue with the "Taiwan Bar Association's Committee on the Protection of Attorneys' Rights and Grievance Handling." The matter was eventually referred to the Legal Training Institute for a re-investigation, after which the Taiwan Bar Association's Board of Directors and Supervisors issued reminders of the above norms to all courts and prosecutors' offices.

If newly minted trainee attorneys encounter situations requiring grievances in the future, in addition to contacting the JRF like the parties in the previous cases, the Grievance Handling Procedures of the "Taiwan Bar Association's Committee on the Protection of Attorneys' Rights and Grievance Handling" also stipulates that if one encounters improper harassment, unlawful prohibition of representation or defense by police, investigators, prosecutors, prosecutors' investigators, judges, judicial affairs officers, or assigned personnel while performing official duties; or suffers abusive verbal insults, malicious physical contact, or other infringements upon rights while performing professional duties by the aforementioned personnel, one may file a grievance with the Taiwan Bar Association!