Chapter 3: Litigation 2023 with complete solution

Litigation If dispute cannot be resolved through mutal agreement, a lawsuit may be filed in order to have the issues resolved by the courts Three types of judicial systems Criminal court, civil court and administrative court Plaintiff Party that begins the lawsuit Defendant Party that is sued Preponderance of the evidence Standard for proving the defendant responsible or liable in a civil court Beyond a reasonable doubt Higher standard of proof is necessary in a criminal court Fact Fifth amendment only applies to criminal matters; parties cannot refuse to testify against themselves in a civil trial Trial Courts Lowest rung court; Case begins here; develop the record of the case and this record becomes the foundation for the appeal of the case to the higher court Appellate Courts Lead to the highest court; primarily concerned with whether or not error occurred at the lower court (civil court) Procedure for appellate courts 1. Appellant (appealing party) gives notice of appeal 2. Appellant prepares a brief legal document 3. Appelle (non-appealing party) files a response 4. Oral arguement 5. Decision First tier of Texas trial courts Municipal courts, Justice of the Peace court and Small claims court Second Tier trial courts County court, county court at law and district court Third Tier of courts Courts of Appeals Fourth Tier of courts Court of criminal appeals, Texas supreme court, Texas court system election problems and election of judges Municipal court Judge is usually appointed; not courts of record; limited to the violations of municipal ordinances ex: traffic cases, noise violations and minor alcohol infraction Justice of the Peace court Same level as Municipal court; has jurisdiction over criminal violations of class C misdemeanors and low dollar amount civil cases; Justice term is four years Small Claims Court Ordinary people's civil court where they could present their case without the need of an attorney; same judge as justice of the peace court; civil cases up to $10,000; no jurisdiction over criminal matters County Court Each county will have one; appeals from lower courts, trial court for a class A or B criminal case, civil cases between $200 and $10,000, junenile matter, probate cases; four year term County Court at Law Judge must have a law license, 25 yrs old, live in US for 2 years, and practiced as judge for 4 yrs; same as county court District court consist of one county or several counties; judge qualifications; original jurisdiction of all action, proceedings and remedies unless exclusively given to another court Court of Appeals judges 35 yrs old with 10 years experience; civil and criminal cases; usually final level of courts that an ordinary case will reach; judges can hear cases in panels of three Court of Criminal Appeal Nine members elected statewide; only hears criminal cases; chief justice and eight associate justices on staggerred six year terms Texas Supreme Court nine members elected statewide staggered; final court for civil and juvenile cases unless they involve a constitutional issue; licensing procedure for the State Bar of Texas Federal District Courts of appeal general trial courts for the federal court system; each state has at least one; do not cross state boundaries; usually consists of 12 jurors and a judge Federal Courts of Appeal divided into 13 circuits around the US; number of judges appointed differs from each circuit; heard by a panel of three judges US Supreme Court last resort for all cases decided in the federal court system and all cases appealed from the state's highest courts; 8 associate justices and chief justice Supreme Court Selection Act Congress has giventhe Supreme Court almost total discretion over which cases will be accepted for review by the Supreme Court Writ of Certiorari Party requests an appeal to the Supreme Court by filing this petition Jurisdiction Power of a court to hear and decide certain types of cases (federal has limited) Subject matter jurisdiction Subject matter of the dispute (court has this if it has been given the power to hear that type of case) Territorial jurisdiction over the parties to the dispute Removal Doctrine If the Colorado resident attempts to sue the Virginia resident in the Colorado state courts, the Virginia resident has a right to have the case removed to a federal district court Personam jurisdiction Accomplished by serving the defendent physically with a summons or citation In rem jurisdiction State is given territorial jurisdiction over property located within that state and that property must also be the subject matter of that lawsuit Venue Court must have this; involves the defendant to be tried in a proper court within a specific geographic area Adversarial system Courts will not decide lawsuits unless there is a true case or controversy betweent the parties to the action Pleadings The papers that are filed with the court 1. Complaint from Plaintiff 2. Answer from defendent 3. Pretrial motions Affirmaative defenses Legal defenses that must be proven by the defendent Counterclaim Allow parties with disputes to settle all of their claims at once Cross-action Bring a third party into the lawsuit Discovery Pretrial process by which each party obtains information from the opposing party or some third party with relevant information (depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissions and production of documents) Depositions Oral testimony of witnesses before the attonerys for the parties and a court reporter Interrogatories Simple written questions which are served on the opposing party Request for Admissions Written set of facts that one party requests the other to admit as being true Request for production Request that the other side produce certain requested documents tht are relevan to the dispute at hand Pretrial conference Court's technique for pushing the case toward settlement or forcing the parties to prepare for trial Trial Attempt by the plaintiff to prove the disputed facts which are necessary for the court to award the relief sought and the attempt by the defendant to thwart the plaintiff Directed verdict Defendant is saying that the plaintiff has failed to sustain the burden of proof in proving the necessary facts Voir dire Jury selection Challenge for cause Attorney feels that the prospective juror cannot be fair and impartial in this type of case due to some bias or prejudice on the part of the prospective juror Peremptory challenge Limited; can be used without judges permission Mediation Litigants turn to a third party to serve as the mediator, hoping that he or she can facilitate a settlement Arbitration Legally binding decision; make a decision for them without going to court