Courts and Litigation

The Judiciary’s Role in American Government

Courts -- interpret and apply the law. Judicial review—determining the constitutionality of laws—the judicial

branch acts as a check on the executive and legislative branches of government

Marbury v. Madison - “It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is…If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each…if both [a] law and the Constitution apply to a particular case,… the Court must determine which of these conflicting rules governs the case. This is the very essence of judicial duty.”

– Marbury, appointed as a judge by John Adams sued for his position– Thomas Jefferson stopped the delivery of the commission for the “Midnight” judges

Bush v. Gore (u-Tube clip)Justice Breyer on the US Supreme Court 

Immigration Case: U.S. Supreme Court heard a case on Obama immigration plan. Tie. Lower court opinion sticks. Lower court already struck down Obama’s plan to allow 4.3 million undocumented immigrants to stay in U.S.

Basic Judicial Requirements

Before a lawsuit can be brought before a court, certain requirements must first be met. These include:

Jurisdiction• Federal

• State• Subject

Venue Standing to Sue

Note: the book covers details on these three items. You can skim this material as I will only test on what is covered in class on this topic.

Venue

Venue has to do with the most appropriate location for a trial, which is usually the geographical area in which the event leading to the dispute took place or where the parties reside.

Standing to Sue

A requirement that a party must have a legally protected and tangible interest at stake sufficient to justify seeking relief through the court system.

The controversy at issue must also be a justifiable controversy, one that is real and substantial, as opposed to hypothetical or academic.

MN tobacco case Toledo Ohio Jeep Plant from Book

Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Crown Central Petroleum Corp. Friends of the Earth, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the protection of the environment, sued the oil company claiming that discharges of storm-water run-off had directly affected “the health, economic, recreational, aesthetic, and environmental interests of FOE’s members.”

End-of-Chapter Q: 2-1Plaintiffs bought a house near a landfill. The landfill accepted many kinds of trash, including kinds that harm the environment. The plaintiffs sue the county over the violations. Standing?

Trial Courts

State courts: Courts of general jurisdiction

may be called by a variety of names.

Courts of limited jurisdiction include:– Divorce courts– Probate courts– Traffic courts– Small claims courts

Federal courts: Court of general jurisdiction

is the U.S. District court. Courts of limited jurisdiction

include:– U.S. Tax Court– U.S. Bankruptcy

Court– U.S. Court of Federal

Claims

Intermediate Appellate CourtsSupreme Courts

Internet Jurisdiction

Jury Selection

The jury selection process, also known as voir dire, consists of questions directed to prospective jurors to assess potential bias.

Jury video – McMahon, Philadelphia DA Training Video –

Following a Case Through the State Courts

A sample civil court case in a state court would involve the following:

ThePleadings

PretrialMotions Discovery

PretrialConference

TrialPost trialMotions

The Appeal

Special Class: Thursday, Sept 7 held in Atwood Theatre

• Special Presentation – Sept 7• CEO from Chartwells – Lisa

McEuen• Atwood Theatre • September 7th from 11:00 a.m –

12:00 • 5 Points Extra Credit – will post

a Polleverywhere survey on Sept 12

p.m.

• CLASS on Sept 12 – Constitutional Law – Plus exam review

• Online Exam. Will Be Held on Sept 12 – Exam will take place Sept 12-13 online

 

Adversarial System

Attorney Represents Client as an Adversary

Judge is Unbiased, Serves to Enforce Rules

What is the role of the Attorney, Judge & Jury?Work-Product

Start here tues 11:00

The Pleadings

Complaint:– Filed by the plaintiff with the court to initiate the lawsuit;

served with a summons on the defendant.– Default judgment

Answer:– Admits or denies allegations made by the plaintiff; – may assert a counterclaim or – an affirmative defense.

Motion to dismiss:– A request to the court to dismiss the case for stated reasons,

such as the plaintiff’s failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted.

Pretrial Motions

Motion for judgment on the pleadings: Will be granted if the parties agree on the facts and

the only question is how the law applies to the facts. The judge bases the decision solely on the

pleadings.

Motion for summary judgment:

Will be granted if the parties agree on the facts. The judge applies the law in rendering a judgment.

The judge can consider evidence outside the pleadings when evaluating the motion.

Metzgar v. PlayskoolJury decides factsJude decides laws

Parents of a child who had choked to death on a Playskool toy block sued alleging negligence in failing to warn of the hazard of the block.

Question: Should the court award summary judgment in favor of Playskool?

Discovery

The process of gathering evidence concerning the case. Discovery involves:– Depositions (sworn testimony

by a party or a witness)– Interrogatories (written

questions by one party towards the other made with assistance from the attorneys)

– Various requests (for admissions, documents, medical exams)

Rudy Giuliani – I do not recallClinton – What “is” is.

Start here tues honors my dep in tex

Pretrial Conference

Either party or the court can request a pretrial conference to:– Identify the matters in dispute after discovery

has taken place, or– To plan the course of the trial

Trial

The typical course of a trial can be diagrammed as follows:

OpeningStatements

Plaintiff’s Introduction of Evidence

Defendant’s Introduction of

EvidenceClosing

Arguments

Post Trial Motions

After a jury has rendered its verdict, either party may make a post trial motion. These include:– Motion for judgment N.O.V. (Notwithstanding the

verdict) will be granted if the judge is convinced that the jury was in error.

– Motion for a new trial will be granted if the judge is convinced that the jury was in error, or there was newly discovered evidence, misconduct by the participants during the trial, or error by the judge.

The Appeal

Either party can appeal the trial court’s judgment to an appropriate court of appeals.

After reviewing the record on appeal, the abstracts, and the attorneys’ briefs, the appellate court holds a hearing and renders its opinion.

Facts versus law on appeal

Enforcing the Judgment

Securing a verdict does not mean there are assets to pay the judgment.

One of the primary factors to decide before filing suit is whether the defendant has resources or assets to pay a judgment.