Chapter 9-10

• Civil Case- Concerns private rights and remedies and usually involves private parties or organizations, although the government may on occasion be a party to this
• Criminal case- involves a violation of penal law that is prosecuted by the state
• Burden of proof: The duty a party has to prove its position in court
• the most important differences in civil and criminal cases is burden of proof
• preponderance of the evidence: Whichever party has more evidence or proof on its side would win the case, no matter how slight the advantage is
• beyond a reasonable doubt: The standard used to determine the guilt or innocence of a person criminally charged. To prove a defendant guilty, the state must provide sufficient evidence of guilt so that jurors have no doubt that might cause a reasonable person to question whether the accused was guilty
• The two types of jurisdiction are:

  • Original Jurisdiction
  • Appellate Jurisdiction
• Orginal Jurisdiction: The power to try a case being heard for the first time
• Appellate Jurisdiction: The power vested in an appellate court to review and revise thee judicial action of an inferior court
• Briefs: Written arguments prepared by lawyers arguing a case in court that summarizes the facts of the case, the pertinent laws, and the application of those laws to the facts supporting their positions
• double jeopardy: A second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal in the first trial
• de novo trials: Trials in which a higher court completely retries the case, in contrast to an appeal in which a higher court simply reviews the law as described in a lower court.
• Municipal courts:

  • Exclusive jurisdiction to try violations of city ordinances
  • Handle minor violation of state law
  • De Novo trials are complete retrial of the case
• Justice of the Peace Courts:

  • Jurisdiction over

  -Criminal cases where fine is less than $500

  -Civil cases where dispute involves less that $10,000

  • May issue warrants for search and arrest
  • Qualifications and objectively questioned
• County Courts:

  • Each of the 254 TecasCounties has a county court
  • County judge elected for a 4-year term
  • Handles probate and civil matters where the dispute is between $200 and $10,000
  • Handles criminal matters for serious misdemeanors where punishment is fine greater than $500 or jail time less than one year
• District courts:

  • Chief trial courts of the state(currently 469)
  • Jurisdiction

  -felony cases

  -Civil cases in which matter exceeds $200

  -Juvenile cases

  • heavy caseload results in plea bargaining
• Courts of appeals:

  • Fourteen courts of appeals
  • Hear appeals for both civil and criminal cases
  • Only a small percentage of trial court cases are appealed
• Court of Criminal Appeals:

  • Dual system of courts of last resort

  -Texas Supreme Court

  -Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

  • Have exclusive jurisdiction over automatic appeals in death penalty cases
• Supreme Court:

  • Final court of appeals in civil and juvenile cases
  • Original jurisdiction over

  -Issuance to writ

  -Conduct of proceedings for involuntary retirement or removal of judges

  • Power to establish rules of administration of justice
• Plea bargaining: Negotiations between the prosecution and the defense to obtain a lighter sentence to other benefits in exchange for a guilty plea by the accused
• bifurcated system: Meaning there are two highest courts in the states - one for criminal and one for civil cases
• Petit Jury: A Jury for a civil or criminal trial
• Hung Jury: A jury that is unable to agree on a verdict after a suitable period of deliberation: the result is mistrial
• challenge for cause: A request to a judge that a prospective juror not be allowed to serve on the jury for a specific reason, such as bias or prior knowledge of the case.
• peremptory challenge: A challenge made to prospective jurors without being required to give a reason for removal; the number of such challenges allotted to the prosecution and defense is limited
• Grand Jury: The twelve people who sit in pretrial proceedings to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to try an individual and therefore return an indictment
• indictment: a formal written accusation issued by a grand jury against a party charged with a crime when it has determined that there is sufficient evidence to bring the accused to trial
• information: A written accusation made by the prosecutor against a party charged with a minor crime; it is an alternative to an indictment and does not involve a grand jury.
• nonpartisan elections: Elections in which party labels do not appear on the ballot
• Merit plan / Missouri plan: A method intended to select judges on the basis of the merit or quality of the candidates and not on political considerations. Under this system, the governor fills court vacancies from a list of nominees submitted by a judicial commission, and these appointees later dace retention elections
• plaintiff: The party bringing a civil suit, usually a private person or institution
• precedents: Previously decided legal cases used as a guiding principle for future cases
• tort reform: efforts to limit liability in civil cases
• Eminent domain: Government taking private property for public use
• felonies: Serious crimes punishable by state institutions
• Misdemeanors: Minor crimes punishable by a country jail sentence or fine
• FBI Index Crimes: Crimes used as a national barometer of the crime rate---murder and non-negligent manslaughter, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.
• Factors that correlate with arrest in Texas:

  • age
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity and race
  • Income and Education
  • Urban Life
  • Recidivism
  • Substance use disorders
  • Access to Weapons
  • White-Collar Crime
• Recidivism: the tendency of criminals to relapse into a crime
• Due process of law: Proper procedures designed to promote justice and protect the individual from the government. Due process is essential to guaranteeing fairness before the government may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property