Assignment 9 - Laws, Courts & Justice

exclusive jurisdiction

the types of cases that a court is competent to hear and decide.

C) the Arlington municipal court.

B) all of these are covered in criminal law
C) felony offenses
D) misdemeanor offenses

in an urban county where the constitutional county judge cannot handle all of the business coming before his or her court.

A) appellate jurisdiction for cases of divorce.
B) original criminal jurisdiction for class A and class B misdemeanors.
C) original jurisdiction over the probating of wills.
D) appellate criminal jurisdiction for cases appealed from municipal and justice of the peace courts.

C) inmate participates in the Prison Fellowship Ministries.

be placed under community supervision.

A) All counties are in one or more judicial districts.
B) Some judicial districts hear only criminal cases.
C) In counties where there is more than one judicial district, the judge in each district has countywide jurisdiction.

Original jurisdiction

C) error, so cases can be appealed up from courts of appeals.

graded penalties

applies the law, and the jury finds the fact.

A) grand juries, 12, district court juries, 12; local court juries, six.

capital felony wherein the death sentence was imposed.

B) All justices are popularly elected for six-year staggered terms.

C) All have more than one justice.

D) Justices must be attorneys with prior legal or judicial experience

indictment.

build new prisons.

C) voting for a judicial candidate.

civil

by majority vote of the justices on the panel that heard the case.

A) Texas uses intravenous injection of a lethal substance to induce death.
B) The average death penalty case requires over 10 years from arrest through execution.
C) Texas has executed more prisoners than any other state since imposition of the death penalty resumed in 1976.
D) Execution is cheaper than imprisonment.

violations of city ordinances.

to punish and rehabilitate offenders, isolate them from society, and deter others from committing crimes

one who initiates a civil suit

1) confine persons convicted of misdemeanor criminal offenses.

2) house persons arrested pending trial, providing they have not made bond or have been denied bond.

3) house inmates convicted of felonies pending transfer to state facilities.

Illiteracy and drug or alcohol use (substance abuse).

A, B, or C

A being the worst.

Encompasses all disputes between two or more private parties.
Monetary fines, not sentenced to jail
Matters not covered by criminal law - torts, contracts, domestic relations or family law(marriage, divorce, parental custody.
Involve individuals or corporations./ private cases not related to the state

A crime against the state, a person is prosecuted by the state.

An unintended injury to another person or to a person's property.

The injured party who initiates a civil suit or the state in a criminal proceeding.
Economic damages, noneconomic damages, or exemplary or punitive damages.

Determines legal owner of a deceased persons possessions/property.

The tx constitution provides for these.

Questions a judge gives a trial jury to answer to establish facts in a case.

A jury's decision about a court case.

a judge's written opinion based on a verdict.

depending on the nature of the crime, felonies are graded as first, second, and third degree; misdemeanors are graded as A, B, and C.

First degree and A being the worst

organized criminal activity, repeat offender, hate crimes

Murder becomes a Capital felony when: murder of child under age 6, peace officer, firefighter, prison employee,inmate-on-inmate, unborn child

Death penalty: all jurors have to agree to sentence

anyone motivated by bias against a person's race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender or sexual preference.

Lethal injection - 3 drugs (pg.406)

Directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

All other appeals are heard first by the court of appeals in the district in which the trial was held, ultimately going to the Tx Court of Criminal Appeals.

-Has exclusive original jurisdiction over city ordinances.
-Shares responsibility with Justice of the Peace Courts and misdemeanors which are punishable by a fine, but no jail time.
-Handle criminal violations in cases involving the health and public safety of the citizens of the city - traffic
-No civil jurisdiction, unless handling civil cases that involve dangerous dogs.
-Concurrent jurisdiction w/ JP over class C misdemeanors w/in city limits.

-Has both civil and criminal jurisdiction
-Handle lawsuits involving damages of not more than $5000
-Shares responsibility with municipal courts with misdemeanors which are punishable by a fine, but no jail time, conduct weddings, issue search and arrest warrants, issue certificates of death
-You don't have to be a lawyer to be a judge
-Has original jurisdiction for only class C misdemeanor criminal case

-Hear cases over again - Trial de Novo = New trial
-Hear civil cases that involve damages between $200 & $100,000
-Handle will & estates
-Hear criminal cases with fines of $500 or more & jail time up to one year
-Hear retrials of cases appealed from local trial courts.
-Handle juvenile matters.
-Every county in TX has a county court, some more than one b/c of population
-Probate courts- deal with wills
-Have original jurisdiction over all Class A & B misdemeanor criminal cases.

-Have original/general jurisdiction in felony, divorce, title to land & election contest cases & civil matters over $200
-Hear civil cases that involve damages of $200
-Hear divorce and child custody cases
-Hear all criminal cases that are considered felonies
-Handle juvenile cases
-If convicted, sent either to Courts of Appeals or Criminal Court of Appeals

-Includes Supreme Court(civil cases), Court of Criminal Appeals(criminal cases), & 14 courts of appeals districts(civil & criminal appeals)
-Do not try cases, have juries, or hear witnesses
-Review actions & decisions of the lower courts on questions of law or allegations of procedural error.
-Hear all civil cases and criminal cases that are appealed from district or county courts, with the exception of death penalty cases
-Handle appeals of juvenile cases
# of justices=3-13

-Handles all criminal cases that have been appealed from the Courts of Appeals.

-Hears appeals for all death penalty cases

-Not looking necessarily at the evidence but if the trial was done properly. Did the jury behave?

-Hears all civil appeals from the Courts of Appeals
-Handles appeals of all juvenile cases from the Courts of Appeals.
-First established in 1836 by the Constitution of the Republic of Tx & re-established by each successive constitution
-Consists of one chief justice & eight justices
-Has statewide, final appellate jurisdiction in most civil & criminal cases
-Caseload is directly affected by the structure & jurisdiction of Texas' appellate court system.

a transcript of court proceedings is made.

30; two-thirds; entire Board of Pardons and Paroles

Bring in a temporary judge.

by 1891

-TX Constitution provides for this
-Established to relieve constitutional county court judges of some or all courtroom duties
-Legislature has authorized over 200 statuary courts(other name for them)
-Criminal jurisdiction is limited to misdemeanors(with few exceptions)
-Limited to controversies involving amounts of $200---$100,000

Presided over by a justice of the peace, a small claims court offers an informal and inexpensive procedure for handling damage claims of $10,000 or less.

Provided for in the tx constitution

County Courts called a "trial de novo" or new trial. The case is tried again in this higher court.

The state provides full funding for: the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals and also provides a bass salary and some expenses for the appellate and district judges of TX.

Counties pay the costs of constitutional county courts, county courts of law, JP's and operating costs of distric courts.

Cities finance the operation of municipal courts.

gubernatorial appointment, with Senate confirmation.

County courts at law and Justice of the peace judges are appointed by the Commissioners Court.

Common Law

first opportunity to hear a case

authority to hear appeals of cases that originally were tried in other lower level courts (depending on the severity of the offense).

more than one court has jurisdiction

Bring in a temporary judge. (pg.395)

a lawyer's compensation paid from money recovered in a lawsuit.

It automatically becomes law. (no pocket veto in TX)

TX Constitut. grants legislature to determines which court has jurisdiction over probate cases.

Have original & exclusive jurisdiction over probate matter, guardianship cases, & mental health commitments

Probate matter might be heard in county court, county court at law, statutory probate court, or district court

involves setting & enforcing rules and regulations by government agencies other than the Legislature.

ex. TX Commission on Environmental Quality sets pollution limits & imposes fine on violators.

Statutory law

ordinances in a wide range of policy areas from traffic and parking rules to building codes, etc.

is the authority to hear appeals of cases that were originally tried in other (lower level) courts.

No new facts may be introduced, usually only examines record of the trial.

it does not have to hear a case if it so chooses(this privilege held by courts of appeals, except in cases of capital punishment)