Period 3

Jose Morales

Anthony Gomez

Chapter 9The Texas

Courts System

Jurisdiction means the court’s authority to hear a particular case.

There are over 3,000 courts that settle more than 10 million cases per year in Texas.

Different types of cases can be Civil or Criminal.

Determining Jurisdiction

Civil law protects rights and property and hold person responsible for their actions.

A civil court case is when a person sues another person for things such as property damage or violation of their rights.

People involved in a court case are known as the plaintiff (person suing) or the defendant (person being sued).

Two Types of Law

Criminal law is also known as “prohibitive law”.

A criminal court case is when a person is in court for breaking a law such as running a red light.

Criminal law reflects societal views which allows it to change in different circumstances.

Cont.

Preponderance is the practice of weighing evidence and testimony in a court case.

In a criminal case the jurors must all agree that the defendant is guilty for them to be convicted.

A criminal case has a prosecutor hired by the state but a civil case is between individuals or corporations.

In some cases an act can be both civil and criminal depending on if there is a law saying you cannot harm others.

Other Distinctions Between Civil and Criminal Law

Two types of courts are trial court and appellate court.

A trial court is the actual court in which a verdict is reached in order convict a person.

An appellate court is a court that reviews the conclusion of the trial courts and make sure the verdict is correct and just.

The appellate court may rule the case to be upheld, reverse and rendered, or reverse and remand.

Reverse and render is when the case is overturned.Reverse and remand is when the verdict of the case

is wrong but has been chosen to not be overturned.

Two Types of Courts

The types of trial-level courts are the municipal courts, justice courts, county courts, and district courts.

Municipal court is based on violations of a city ordinance such as curfew violation or noise disturbances.

Justice court is “the people’s courts” and can hear both criminal and civil cases.

Trial-Level Courts

County courts have cases that are about personal injury or tax disputes.

District courts can also hear criminal or civil cases and handles more serious cases.

Cases in the district courts can get billions of dollars depending on the case.

Cont.

Intermediate courts and dual supreme courts are types of appellate courts.

Intermediate court of appeal hears case appeals from state’s county and district courts that do not involve cases in which the defendant was sentenced to death.

Dual supreme court is made up of the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The Texas Supreme Court works with appeals from civil cases and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals deals with criminal cases.

Appellate Courts

Decisions from court cases help public policy making.

The courts can make guidelines for certain acts and they have the same effect as a law.

The guidelines need to help both the majority and the minority when dealing with public opinion

The Courts Role in Public Policy Making

In Texas judges may be elected by city councils or city officials or by popular election

Judges need to run in partisan elections. This is required in the state of Texas along with several other states.

The reason for having partisan elections is because Texas is traditionalistic and people elected will be more responsive to what the people want.

Selection of Judges

More minorities have been appointed by the governor to fill judicial spots.

Missouri Plan stopped the rising cost of campaigning which provided the opportunity for minorities to qualify for representing in courts

The Call For Judicial Reform