One of the main differences between criminal cases and civil cases is
that they are held in different courts, this is because there is a
significant distinction between a civil wrong and a criminal wrong.
Crimes are considered to be a type of wrongdoing, however civil wrongs
tend to have only an impact on the parties involved in the case. For
example: a breach of contract. Where as criminal wrongs tend to have
an impact on society itself. For example: a murder, theft or rape.
Criminal law is dealt with in the Magistrates court and if very
serious in the Crown court. It is said to be more difficult to win a
case in the Magistrates court and Crown court than in a civil court as
in a magistrates and crown court the evidence has to be proved beyond
doubt and in a civil court evidence can be proved on a balance of
probabilities.
Criminal and civil cases are dealt with in different courts of trial.
There are two courts for criminal cases, the magistrate's court and
the crown court. In a magistrates court lay magistrates hear most
cases normally in groups of three. Lay magistrates are part time,
unpaid and do not need a legal qualification, however they are
assisted by a legally qualified clerk who may advise if requested.
Some, but very few cases may be heard by District |Judges. District
judges are legally qualified, full time and paid, they sit alone and
hear the longer and more difficult cases. Only summary offences such
as motor offences and minor assaults are dealt with in the
magistrate's court. Apart from the exception of triable offences
which, can then be dealt with in either two courts of trial. The
majority of criminal b...
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... difficult to obtain). Final appeals lie to the House of
Lords. An important part of law must be involved and again leave must
be granted, this is very rare. Cases from the count court cannot
appeal unless leave is granted. However there is an important
arbitration process involving cases up to ?,000. This involves a
low-key hearing presided over a district judge where the formalities
of the full court are ignored. This is a popular and successful method
of disposing a case as costs are not usually awarded against the loser
(unlike in the full court). Legal representation is discouraged in
this way.
An 'integrated' theory of the civil justice system encompasses not
merely formal legal rules and state courts, but also the numerous
others kinds of dispute resolution mechanisms which exist to resolve
civil disputes.
The system of crime and law enforcement had hardly changed in Britain since the medieval times. Justices of the Peace or JPs were appointed by the Crown since 1361. Before the night watchmen and parish constables were introduced a primitive police force was introduced and the JPs were assisted by constables who only worked part time and were very unreliable as the pay was really bad. The early stages of the force consisted of a night watchmen and parish constables, who were prior to the creation of the main police force. Watchmen were groups of men, usually authorised by a state, government, or society, to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement. Constables were required to apprehend anyone accused of a felony and bring criminals to a justice of the peace. They also had a general responsibility to keep the peace. There was no expectation that they would investigate and prosecute crimes because of limited responsibility and training. Night watchmen patrolled the streets between 9 or 10pm until sunrise and were expected to examine all suspicious characters. In the City of London, the City Marshall and the Beadles (Parish wardens) conducted daytime patrols. Similar to the night watchmen, primary responsibilities were to patrol and deter, drunkenness, beggars, vagrants and prostitutes and to act as a deterrent against more serious offences. Over the course of this period, the arrangements by which men served as constables and watchmen changed significantly, to incorporate how felons were detected and apprehended.
...er to adjudicate a case, or hear about a case and then decide on it. These types of cases do not involve as many parties to reach decision. Criminal cases for example, typically involve a plaintiff, defendant, a lawyer for each party, a judge, and a jury. Administrative law cases do not have a jury. A judge will then make a decision after all evidence is reviewed. If the party is not pleased with that decision may appeal the case. From there, it is heard by an appellate board. If the party is still displeased, they can request that it be appealed a second time and it is then moved to federal court (Beatty, Samuelson, Bredeson 68).
Municipal courts have limited jurisdiction over violations of city ordinances, the issuance of criminal warrants, and traffic violations within city limits. Municipal courts also conduct preliminary hearings. There are 370 municipal courts that are funded by the city or town in which they preside. 350 judges oversee the courts and they are either appointed or elected.
The term “Court Hierarchy” is a very important word in the law world in modern society. It’s definition gives a very clear and concise meaning to the law industry. The phrase can be split into two words to be easily dealt and understood. The word “court” is from a Greek derivative “cohors” or “cohort” meaning courtyard or retinue. It’s definition from the dictionary certainly portrays the law as a very important and distinguished practice. “a. A person or body of persons whose task is to hear and submit a decision on cases at law.” “b. The building, hall, or room in which such cases are heard and determined.” The word, “hierarchy”, however, has a more powerful and specific relation to the law world. It is a Greek derived word and originally came from the word “hierarkhia”, meaning the rule of a high priest. “a. A body of clergy organized into successive ranks or grades with each level subordinate to the one above.” “b. A series in which each element is graded or ranked.” By placing these two words together, it has a responsibility of giving the public a definition of one of the most important practices portrayed by the Court System of Australia. Court Hierarchy is the term given to the system in which the Courts of Australia are split into different levels to deal with different matters by different levels of severity.
Judiciary.gov.uk. 2014. Judges, Tribunals and Magistrates | Introduction to the justice system | Traditions of the courts. [online] Available at: http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/introduction-to-justice-system/court-traditions [Accessed: 2 Apr 2014].
Now, the district court system is the beginning step of the judicial system. A good amount of the case handled by the district court system is either criminal or civil trial cases. According to Roger Miller, “trial courts that have general jurisdiction as to the subject matter may be called county, district, superior, or circuit courts.” The majority of their cases are to be handled in-county first before proceeding further through the court system. Just as businesses and organizations have a chain-of-command or protocol system the government has the
Lay magistrates work is mainly connected to criminal cases although they also deal with some civil matters, especially family cases. Firstly, it is to be noted that lay magistrates only perform their duties about once a fortnight. Despite being lay members within the law, they try 97% of all criminal cases and deal with preliminary hearings in the remaining 3% of criminal cases, these involve Early Administrative Hearings, remand hearings, bail applications, sentencing and transfer proceedings. Lay magistrates also deal with commitals, magistrates can commit a defendant charged with a triable either way offence for the sentence to the Crown Court at the end of the case having heard the defendants past record, they feel that their powers of punishment are insufficent. Lay magistrates have a fairly wide discretion as to the sentence they select in each case although they are subject to certain restrictions.
The court system is composed of lawyers, judges, and juries. Their job is to ensure that everyone receives a fair trial, determine guilt or innocence, and apply sentences to guilty parties. The court system will contain one judge, and a jury of twelve citizens. The jury of the court will determine the guilt or innocence of the individual. The jury will also recommend a sentence for the crime the individual committed.
On 2/9/18 at approximately 01:28 I, Officer Ramirez #212 was dispatched to Bayside Hall Room #5110 (located at 6515 Ocean Drive Corpus Christi TX, 78412 on the Texas A&M University Corpus Christi) in reference to suspicious activity smell of marijuana.
However, this system of laws changed much throughout the century. The Chancery became merely a joke for there you could not present evidence during trials and Parliament came to view it as necessary for matters of will and divorce to be referred to new civil courts instead of the church. In 1873 the 3 common law courts and the Chancery were combined to make the Supreme Court
In Criminal cases, the general principle is that when it comes to proving the guilt of an accused person, the burden of proving this rests with the prosecution . In the case of Woolmington v DPP , it was stated in the judgment of Lord Sankey that; “Throughout the web of the English Criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen, that is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner’s guilt subject to….. the defence of insanity and subject also to any statutory exception”. From the Judgment of Lord Sankey, the following circumstances where the accused bears the legal burden of proof in criminal cases were established; where the accused pleads the defence of insanity, where a statute or Act of Parliament expressly imposes the legal burden of proof on the defence, and where a statute or Act of Parliament impliedly imposes the legal burden of proof on the defence. An accused person will also bear the legal burden of proof of the statutory defence of diminished responsibility which is covered by section 2(2) Homicide Act 1957. In the cases of Lambert Ali and Jordan , the Court of Appeal held that imposing the legal burden of proof of proving diminished responsibility on the defence does not infringe Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Criminal court deals with different types of criminal jurisdictions and offences dealt with within the courts and also the appeals routes of each criminal structure. They also evaluate the efficiency of the current Criminal structure. The roles and powers Lay Magistrates have on the Criminal court while explaining the selection roles of Juries also giving evaluation of the use of Lay people within the Criminal justice system. There are three different types of offences which are dealt with in the Criminal Courts, summary offences which are the least serious offences and are normally dealt with in the Magistrate Courts. These are offences such as common assault and most driving offences. The 2ndtype of offence
The courts have the function of giving the public a chance to present themselves whether to prosecute or defend themselves if any disputes against them rise. It is known to everyone that a court is a place where disputes can be settled while using the right and proper procedures. In the Criminal court is the luxury of going through a tedious process of breaking a law. Once you have been arrested and have to go to court because of the arrest, you now have a criminal case appointed against you. The court is also the place where a just, fair and unbiased trial can be heard so that it would not cause any disadvantage to either of the party involved in the dispute. The parties are given a chance to represent themselves or to choose to have a legal representative, which is mostly preferred by many.
Criminal and Civil Law – Criminal law is the law through which public commitment of crimes are prosecuted by governing bodies, whereas civil law is the law through which private parties may bring lawsuits against one another for real or imagined wrongdoings. E.g. criminal law would deal with the prosecution of a crime such as one person hitting another with their car, and civil law would deal with the lawsuit, as the person hit would sue the driver of the car for monetary compensation.
Socio-legal is the combination of social and legal factors, mainly looking at the relationship between law and society . In this project, as law students, we must use our legal knowledge and skills in order to work well as a team to plan and carry out events for schools and colleges. The socio-legal role is to use our knowledge and expertise as law students and put them in to action by planning and undertaking successful events. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the main function is to be able to work well as a team/committee in order to gain the best outcome. Dr. Meredith Belbin is famously known for his team role theory where he looks at the different types of people and how they are effective in working in groups/teams. By looking at Dr. Belbin’s research and theory, I can come to a conclusion as to what is needed in order to work effectively as a team.