The Judicial Institution of Texas
The ratification of the Texas constitution of 1876 helped to transition and establish what was the republic of Texas into the state of Texas. This paper will focus on the judicial institution in the state of Texas. Specifically, the election of judges, the setup of the court system, the different types of courts, and how these three specifics about the judicial institution are democratic in nature.
The Texas constitution provided the people with equal rights under the Constitution of the United States, by doing so, this allowed for the people to have access to liberties they were not inclined to prior. The institution I chose to address in this paper is that of the judicial, because under the judicial article of the Texas constitution it gives great examples of being democratic in nature. The first specific about the judicial institution is that, unlike the federal government, the judicial article implements partisan election. In federal courts, judges are appointed, and the people do not get to vote. Whereas in Texas, it's the people's choice. Judges are than elected based on the popular vote. Judges in Texas are also given limitations to the time they are allowed to serve by having terms in place. For supreme and criminal appeal courts the term limit is six years, district courts are four years, and all other courts are two years.
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Whereas under the federal court system, power is completely invested to the U.S. Supreme Court, and very few cases ever actually reach that point. The Texas court system allows for smaller cases to be heard including most criminal, probate, contract, tort, and family law cases. This democratic system demonstrated in the judicial institution under the Texas constitution is also very positive because it provides citizens of counties and municipalities with equal
It is surprising to know that in the span of 49 years, Texas went through seven different constitutions reflecting the changes of time. Every experience Texas went through made the constitution more and more detailed and showed more distrust in the government. However, time has changed Texas from an agricultural world to a technological world and yet the Constitution of 1876 remains the law of the state. Although Texas endured the Civil War and the Reconstruction period after the Constitution of 1845 was ratified, the Constitution of 1876 was drafted from the Constitution of 1845.
Daniel Elazar created a classification scheme moralistic political culture of individuals, and traditionalistic to describe the political culture of the state. According to Elazar, Texas can be described as traditionalistic and individuals. Historically, the Texas political parties demonstrated a strong tradition, provincialism, and business dominance. The models, however, may weaken as the Republicans increase its power in the state and urbanization continues. Texas is the second largest state in the country and there are four different geographical regions: the Gulf coastal plain, the interior lowlands, Great Plains, and the basin and range province,
The principles, which define the work of juridical branch, are relevant nowadays, as they have proved their effectiveness and managed to gain confidence of population. Texas juridical branch is complex and confusing. According to the principles of the Texas Constitution, six types of courts are established, some of which have simultaneous or overlapping jurisdictions. In accordance with the Texas Constitution of 1876, two high courts were established. In addition, in the traditions of Jacksonian Democracy, all the judges in Texas courts should be ready to compete with electoral politics and take their positions according to the results of partisan elections. This democratic principle of fair elections and respect to the votes of citizens is still applied in the juridical branch of Texas
The U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution have similarities and differences. First, both constitutions consist of a Bill of Rights. This is a formal summary of the rights and liberties considered essential to a people or group of people. The individual rights provide a variety of restraints on political power to protect people against unwarranted intrusions and abuses. Also, in both constitutions it outlines and talks about the powers of government in each separate department. Both talk about suffrage, taxation and revenue, along with general provisions, and modes of amending the c...
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
The United States Constitution is one of the most used documents in American History, as it is the foundation of American democracy. Within the constitution, the tenth amendment grants, “…The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Thus, Texas also has a Constitution, which outlines important powers within the state, itself. Both of these documents are extremely important to understand together, but to also understand their differences. Some examples of the differences between the Texas State Constitution and the United States Constitution include, the powers of the President and the Governor, the varying Legislative sessions,
To this day, Americans have many rights and privileges. Rights stated in the United States constitution may be simple and to the point, but the rights Americans have may cause debate to whether or not something that happens in society, is completely reasonable. The Texas v. Johnson case created much debate due to a burning of the American Flag. One may say the burning of the flag was tolerable because of the rights citizens of the United States have, another may say it was not acceptable due to what the American flag symbolizes for America. (Brennan and Stevens 1). Johnson was outside of his First Amendment rights, and the burning of the American flag was unjust due to what the flag means to America.
The judicial branch in Texas works the same as that of the federal judicial branch and its role is to interpret the laws. The Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the State of Texas. The judicial branch oversees enforcement and making of laws to ensure that they are operating within the framework of the original charters of governmental power. The judicial branch checks the power of both legislative and executive branches by declaring if laws and acts passed are unconstitutional. The Texas judicial branch settles disputes and determines if someone is guilty or innocent when charged with violating the law. It also settles the estates of the deceased. It runs jails and prisons, monitors parolees, and in extreme cases, carries out the death penalty on people convicted of a capital felony. The Texas judiciary department includes five levels of courts. The lower levels are the trial courts, similar to the federal system. Appellate courts hear the appeals of both civil and criminal cases from the lower courts. Unlike the federal system, the top of the Texas judicial hierarchy is divided into two supreme courts, the court of criminal appeals and the Texas Supreme Court for civil
In William Hudson’s book, American Democracy in Peril, he writes about different “challenges” that play a vital role in shaping the future of the United States. One is the problem of the “imperial judiciary”. Hudson defines its as that the justice system in the United States has become so powerful that it is answering and deciding upon important policy questions, questions that probably should be answered by our democratic legislatures. Instead of having debates in which everyone’s voices are heard and are considered in final decision-making process, a democratic-like process; we have a single judge or a small group of judges making decisions that effect millions of citizens, an “undemocratic” process. Hudson personally believes the current state of judicialized politics is harming policy decisions in Americans. According to him, the judicial branch is the “least democratic branch”, and ...
The Texas Constitution’s division of power has proven to be very controversial, and sighting numerous debates and political discussions about it’s equal distribution of power and inefficiency. The executive branch obtains minor influence from the people, the legislative branch is concealed to the proficiency of dedication to its investment in the state, and with the sum up of the first two branches the judiciary branch has, before, taken self initiative to pass a law with little consent or response of the people and because of this the state should oblige to a higher degree of morality for a more stable constitution.
The Texas legislative is the dominant branch of the state government of Texas and works within the constitutional structure of separation of powers. As it is the representative of the people of Texas and under the 10th amendment to the USA constitution it implements the authoritative powers that only works for the US constitution and Texas and federal law that are applicable (Dye, Gibson & Robinson, 2010). It also has the authority to put into practice the necessary police rule to promote the safety, moral, health and welfare. The Legislature is a bicameral body that consists of the 31 representatives of member of council and 150 members of House of Representatives. The effects of bicameralism are: it helps to stabilize
People who oppose the ratification of another constitution generally believe that the amendment process is a suitable way to allow changes to the document when needed, while also taking the power from the elected and giving it to the electorate. In other words, by adding amendments to the constitution, the constitution can still cover modern issues while limiting the finalizing power of the government, and instead, leaving this decisive power in the hands of the people. Additionally, the ratification of a new constitution could not only be a risky decision, but could potentially be a chance of failure for yet another Texas constitution. Although the current constitution is based on the infrastructure of a society that was established over a hundred years ago, the moralistic and individualistic views of conservative Texans are in compliance with the main ideas of this historic document. The present day constitution also makes it extremely difficult for any legislation to be passed or even considered, fulfilling many citizens’ wishes that the government not intervene in one’s personal life. The Texas constitution keeps the power in the electorate, always allowing for its citizens to a have a say in what should be added, while keeping as much government intrusion out as
The American Court System is an important part of American history and one of the many assets that makes America stand out from other countries. It thrives for justice through its structured and organized court systems. The structures and organizations are widely influenced by both the State and U.S Constitution. The courts have important characters that used their knowledge and roles to aim for equality and justice. These court systems have been influenced since the beginning of the United State of America. Today, these systems and law continue to change and adapt in order to keep and protect the peoples’ rights.
A constitution is a fundamental law or the basic principles and laws of the nation. It is also a necessary tool to run a nation in a proper way. Both Texas constitution and US Constitution are the same kind of documents which contain Bill of rights which helps for the protection of civil liberties from the government infraction and provide s the separation of power between executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government and separate the power between lower and upper level of government. In US constitution, all the states are lower than the federal government whereas in Texas constitution countries are subordinate to all the state government. Texas constitution puts rights as first and is longer and more detail
Robert N. Clinton, ‘Judges Must Make Law: A Realistic Appraisal of the Judicial Function in a Democratic Society’ [1981-1982] 67 Iowa L. Rev. 711 http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/ilr67&div=38&g_sent=1&collection=journals accessed 12 February 2012