CHAPTER 25: CHAPTER 25: THE TEXAS THE TEXAS JUDICIARY, JUDICIARY,

LAW, LAW, AND DUE AND DUE PROCESSPROCESS

Civil and Criminal Law ComparedCivil and Criminal Law Compared

Civil Law– Private rights

– Individual relationships

– Obligations

– Responsibilities

– Plaintiffs initiate suits.

– Remedy is compensation/relief.

Criminal Law– Public Morality

– Concepts of right and wrong

– Public officials prosecute

– Remedy is punishment.

Distinction between Civil and Distinction between Civil and Criminal CasesCriminal Cases Civil cases concern individual rights and remedies.

Involves private parties or organizations; individuals try to establish responsibility and provide relief.– Must prove “preponderance of the evidence”

Criminal cases involve a violation of penal law; the state attempts to establish guilt and inflict punishment

– Defendant must be guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt” Important distinction between civil law and criminal law is

the burden of proof (the duty and degree to which a party must prove its position).

Types of Civil LawTypes of Civil Law

Common Law Homestead Eminent Domain

Right to Work

Stare Decisis Probate Charter Slander

CommonLaw Marriage

Intestate Writs of Injunction

Libel

Community Property

Real Property Closed Shop Tort

Issues in Civil LawIssues in Civil Law

Tort reform- http://www.atra.org/states/TX– placed restrictions on lawsuits because some argued that society

was going to court for frivolous reasons. Punitive damage reforms

– judgments in excess of actual damages that are intended to punish the defendant.

No-fault – plan would allow an insured person to collect for damages from the

individual’s own insurance company regardless or who is at fault in an accident.

– Under the present liability plan, it’s expensive to determine who is at fault.

Federal OffensesFederal Offenses

Federal offenses include crimes– committed on the high seas

– committed on federal property, territories, and reservations

– involving crossing of state or national boundaries

– interfering with interstate commerce

– committed against the national government or its employees while they are engaged in official duties.

Misdemeanors are minor crimes punishable by the county or a fine.

The CriminalThe Criminal

Criminals often are • Young males• poor, • members of racial or ethnic minority groups with emotional and social

problems.

FBI index crimes• Americans under eighteen account for 18% of crimes• Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery,

aggravated assault, burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft are measured.

White collar crimes- http://www.nw3c.org/• usually someone you don’t suspect like a business man or college

professor committing crimes such as tax fraud, bribery, business fraud, price fixing and embezzlement.

Possible Contributing Factors to Possible Contributing Factors to CrimeCrimePovertyEducationUrban Life

– GangsIllegal Drugs/Alcohol AbuseSingle-parent householdsEach to the extent that sectors of society feel

they do not now nor in the future benefit from the current system.

The VictimThe Victim

Violent Crimes– Outrage against violent and property crimes is higher than

towards white-collar crimes. Costs for white-collar crimes are much higher.

Victimless crimes– Prostitution, drug possession, gambling are crimes where the

primary victim is the criminal themselves.– At least 46% of Texas murderers knew their victims– More than half of the Texas murder victims were minority.

41% were Hispanic.– Texas has experienced a decline in crime.

The CourtsThe Courts

The court must blend two goals:1. To protect society according to the state’s legal

concepts

2. To protect the rights of the individual through ‘Due Process Legal Procedures.

The Courts and Criminal LawThe Courts and Criminal Law

Due process legal procedures are essential to guarantee fair play before the government may deny a person life, liberty, or prosperity.

Pretrial Court Activities– The accused is presented before a justice of the peace or other

magistrate. The purpose of this arraignment is to: • Explain the charges against the accused. • Remind the suspect of the right to remain silent (2nd time in the process)

and to counsel and to request a written acknowledgement that the warning was given and understood.

• Set bail. Money deposit as a guarantee to appear in court. • Inform the accused of the right to an examining trial or a Grand Jury.

The Courts (cont.)The Courts (cont.)The suspect is told the charges

– upon arrest, in the arraignment, and in several subsequent proceedings.Writ of Habeas Corpus

– a court order requiring that the prisoner be presented in person and legal cause shown for imprisonment (between arrest and arraignment).

– the accused has the right to counsel.Personal recognizance

– the defendants personal promise to appear. Money deposit waived usually first offenders, not career criminals.

The accused has the right to an examining trial in felony cases

Formal Charges SummaryFormal Charges Summary

Pretrial court activities include arraignment, the setting of bail, a second reading of the Miranda rights, and establishing the right to legal counsel. – A felony indictment requires action of a grand jury.– Grand juries are made up of twelve ordinary persons

who are responsible for felony indictments– A petit jury is used in a trial court to determine guilt

or innocence.

Pretrial HearingsPretrial Hearings

This is a second arraignment before a judge The formal indictment by the Grand Jury is read and the

accused enters a plea. If a guilty plea is entered, the judge sets a punishment date. Most defendants plead not guilty at this point, and the case

is placed on a docket or a calendar. A variety of motions could be made:

– Continuance-delay– Suppression of evidence-certain evidence inadmissible– Insanity plea-– Change of venue-Usually related to media coverage

Plea BargainingPlea Bargaining

Most cases are finalized via plea bargaining before the pretrial hearings.– Deferred adjudication- case can be tried at a

later date if the accused meets probation-like conditions

– Trial v. Plea bargaining- quick disposition of cases can result in real criminals may get off easy while falsely accused citizens may bargain to get it over with.

The TrialThe Trial A trial by jury could be waived.

– Texas provides a right to a trial by jury in every criminal case.

– If waived, the judge decides the verdict. During the voir dire, prospective jurors are questioned.

– Peremptory challenge– Strikes for cause

Adversary system The jury determines the issue of guilt, but sentencing may be

made by either the judge or the jury. Punishment for those found guilty may include:

– fine, probation, deferred adjudication, incarceration, and death by lethal injection

The Trial Procedure GuaranteesThe Trial Procedure Guarantees

Knowledge of the lawsEvidenceCompulsory processCharge to the jurySummaryHung juryMistrialProbationSentencing

Post Trial ProceedingsPost Trial ProceedingsTo protect a person from double jeopardy, an

acquitted person cannot be tried again for the same offense.

• In mistrial cases, another trial may be held.• A person found not guilty of one offense may be tried for a related

offense.• The state may not appeal the reversal of a not guilty verdict.• The defendant may appeal a guilty verdict.• Appellate procedure is designed to review a lower court’s

decision.• If several procedural errors are found, the court may return the

case to a lower court for retrial (not considered double jeopardy).• Once all appeals are exhausted, the federal courts might hear the

case if a constitutional violation is asserted. Juveniles are treated differently under state law.

Municipal CourtsMunicipal Courts

Set up by incorporated cities of TexasCriminal misdemeanors with fines less than

$500.Exclusive over municipal ordinance violations

(fines up to $2,000).Limited civil penalties in cases involving drugsMagistrate functions

Justice of the Peace CourtsJustice of the Peace Courts

Magistrate FunctionsHave criminal jurisdiction in class C

misdemeanors with fines up to $500 and civil jurisdiction in cases involving less than $5,000

Small Claims

County Level CourtsCounty Level Courts

254 Con. Law CourtsOriginal Jurisdiction in civil matters between $200 and

$5,000.Original jurisdiction over $500 misdemeanors/jail.De novo appeals from lower court/court of record.

County Level CourtsCounty Level Courts

187 County Courts at Law

Limited jurisdiction over civil matters less than $100,000/criminal misdemeanors.

De novo appeals from lower courts/court of record

16 Probate CourtsLimited to Probate

Matters

District CourtsDistrict Courts

420 Courts and 420 JudgesOriginal Jurisdiction in matters over $200.Divorce, title, contested elections and contested probate

matters.Original jurisdiction in felony crime cases Juvenile Matters10 District Courts are criminal courts.Cases with the death penalty go to Court of Criminal

AppealsPlea Bargaining

Court of AppealsCourt of Appeals

14 Courts and 80 JusticesIntermediate appeals from trial courtsCriminal Appeals go to the Court of Criminal

AppealsCivil Appeals go to the Texas Supreme Court.

Supreme Court and Court of Supreme Court and Court of Criminal AppealsCriminal AppealsSupreme Court1 Court 9 JusticesFinal appellate

jurisdiction in civil and juvenile cases

Court of Criminal Appeals

1 Court9 JudgesFinal Appellate

jurisdiction in criminal cases

Supreme Court JusticesSupreme Court Justices

Elected in statewide electionsThree of the justices elected every two years for

six year terms.Qualifications

– At least 35 years of age– U.S. and Texas Citizens– Served as a lawyer or judge of a court of record for

ten years

The Selection Method of Texas The Selection Method of Texas Judges…Judges… Judges of County Courts at Law and all higher courts

must be experienced attorneys to be elected to the bench.

State trial judges are elected on a partisan basis for terms of four years with no term limits.

Appellate judges are elected on a partisan basis for terms of ten years with no term limits.

District judges and all higher judges can be impeached by the legislature and removed from office. County level and lower state judges may be removed by a district court.

There is no recall of state judges.

Texas Judiciary IssuesTexas Judiciary Issues

There is too much overlapping jurisdiction and confusion in the judicial system.

Many municipal and all J. P. courts are not courts of record. This means appeals result in trials de novo. This results in many cases being dismissed.

A unified highest appellate court would put Texas in line with all states but Oklahoma.

There is need to reform cost and partisanship of selecting judges.