A brief overview of Criminal & Civil Law, for use with sections 16.1 & 2

1. Civil Law
For use with section 16.1

2. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
A. Pleadings
B. Discovery
C. Pretrial Discussions
D. Trial
E. Verdict
F. Appeal

3. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
A. Pleadings
1) Complaint
 individual hires a lawyer
 files this formal statement with the proper court
 names the plaintiff and defendant
 describes the nature of the lawsuit

4. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
A. Pleadings
2) Summons
 official document from the court describing to the
defendant the suit against him and ordering him to
appear in court

5. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
A. Pleadings
3) Response
 this is the defendant’s answer to the complaint
 may be an admission, an explanation, or rebuttal of the
charges
 together with the complaint these make up the
pleadings

6. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
B. Discovery
 lawyers from both sides have the opportunity to check
facts, gather evidence, and question witnesses and the
other party

7. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
C. Pretrial Discussions
 conference called by the judge with both parties to help
clarify the differences and prepare for trial

8. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
C. Pretrial Discussions
1. Drop the Suit
 if the plaintiff believes his case to be too weak, he may
withdraw his lawsuit

9. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
C. Pretrial Discussions
2. Settle
 if the defendant believes the case is too strong against
him he may wish to settle the case without a trial
 this option saves both sides a lot of time and money

10. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
C. Pretrial Discussions
3. Mediation
 a neutral 3rd party is brought in to hear both sides of the
case
 a mediator will lead the discussions trying to keep
discussions open
 the role of the mediator is to help the two sides reach an
agreement or settlement

11. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
C. Pretrial Discussions
4. Arbitration
 both sides may agree to arbitration where the decision is
binding on both parties
 a third party reviews each side of the case and makes a
decision

12. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
D. Trial
 must be a jury of 6 to 12 members or a judge will hear the
case alone
 both sides present their case and evidence and witnesses –
plaintiff first
 before deliberations (the jury or judge taking time to think
over the evidence) both sides make their closing statements
by summarizing their case

13. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
D. Trial
1) “preponderance of evidence”
 in a civil trial, the plaintiff must have presented enough
evidence to persuade the judge or jury that the
defendant is responsible for the incident that caused
the damages

14. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
E. Verdict
1) If for the plaintiff...
 a remedy is set – remedy is the way the defendant
must make up for the injury that was caused to the
plaintiff

15. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
E. Verdict
2) If for the defendant...
 the plaintiff gets nothing and must pay court costs

16. I. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CIVIL CASE?
F. Appeal
 asking a higher court to review the case
 may be done if the losing side believes the judge made
errors during the trial or an injustice has taken place
 this often means that it can be years before a winning
plaintiff actually receives any money

17. Criminal Law
For use with section 16.2

18. I. CRIMES
A. Penal Codes
 each state’s written criminal law code
 establishes classifications (degrees of seriousness) for certain
crimes
 sets penalties for types of crimes

19. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
1) Misdemeanors
2) Felonies

20. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
1) Misdemeanors
 convicted persons may be fined or sentenced to one year
or less
 repetition of certain misdemeanors (such as DUI) will
become felonies

21. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
1) Misdemeanors
a) Victimless crimes
 crimes against morality
 difficult to enforce since the victim is the perpetrator
 examples: unauthorized gambling, use of illegal drugs

22. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
2) Felonies
 “more serious” crimes

23. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
2) Felonies
a) Crimes against people
 violent or potentially violent crimes
i. Examples
 murder
 manslaughter
 assault
 rape
 kidnapping

24. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
2) Felonies
b) Crimes against property
 most common type of crime
i. Examples
 larceny – taking of property unlawfully
 vandalism – deliberate destruction of property
 fraud – taking property by dishonest means or
misrepresentation

25. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
1) Functions of Penalties
a) Justice
 Criminal to pay for an offense against a victim or
society

26. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
1) Functions of Penalties
b) Safety to society
 Keep dangerous criminals off the street

27. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
1) Functions of Penalties
c) Deterrent to others
 by seeing the severity of punishments it will keep
people from engaging in criminal acts

28. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
1) Functions of Penalties
d) Correction
 many states call their prison system “Department of
Corrections”
 states seeks to rehabilitate criminals while in prison so
they will not commit a crime when they return to
society

29. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
 because every case has different circumstances,
sentences may be very different

30. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
a) Indeterminate sentencing
 judge gives a minimum and a maximum length for
the sentence

31. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
b) Parole
 offers a lighter sentence to those criminals in prison
who show that they have been rehabilitated
i. Opponents’ Arguments
 parole offers criminals a shorter sentence than the law
states
 some believe that a criminal has not had the chance to
fully pay their debt to society

32. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
c) Mandatory Sentencing
 judges must impose whatever sentence is required
i. Opponents’ Arguments
 Some argue that in some cases a judge must impose
more severe penalties than the circumstances of the
case justifies

33. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
A. Arrest
B. Hearing
C. Indictment
D. Arraignment
E. Trial
F. Verdict
G. Sentencing
H. Appeal

34. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
A. Arrest
1) Reading of Rights
 this is the result of the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona
 a defendant must know his legal protections before he is
taken to the precinct and asked any questions
 the right to remain silent
 the right to have an attorney present during questioning
 right to a court-appointed attorney if the defendant can
not afford one
 the right to stop answering questions at any time

35. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
A. Arrest
2) Booking
 when the defendant is charged with the crime
 includes fingerprinting and photographing
 defendant may call his lawyer at this time

36. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
B. Hearing
 defendant appears in court a few hours after being booked
 the prosecution must show the judge that there is probable
cause for believing the defendant committed the crime
(protect of habeas corpus)
 bail is set and is based on the seriousness of the crime and
what risk there is of the defendant returning to court at his
trial date

37. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
C. Indictment
 formal accusation of a suspect
 many states use a grand jury to determine if there is enough
evidence to warrant an arrest
 some states use preliminary hearings instead of grand juries
 federal courts use grand juries

38. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
 the defendant is presented with the charges and is asked to
make a plea

39. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options
a) Not Guilty
 defendant states that he is not the perpetrator of the
crime
 the case continues

40. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options
b) Guilty
 defendant admits to the crime
 the judge must next determine a punishment

41. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options
c) No Contest
 the defendant does not admit guilt but does not want
to fight the prosecution
 this has much the same effect as a guilty plea

42. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options
d) Plea Bargain
 this occurs when the prosecution offers the defendant
the opportunity to agree to plea guilty a lesser charge
 this option, when available, reduces the seriousness of
the crime and eliminates a long drawn-out trial
 this ensures the defendant will be punished for the
crime

43. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
1) Lots of work for the lawyers
 lawyers interview witnesses, studies laws affecting the
case, gathers as much information as possible

44. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
2) Jury selection
 a large pool of potential jurors is selected at random
 lawyers from both sides will select jurors based on how
biased they believe the jurors will be

45. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
3) Opening Statements
 lawyers for both sides will set an outline for their case

46. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
4) Presentation of Cases
 each side will present evidence, call and question
witnesses, hear testimony, cross-examine opposing
witnesses

47. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
5) Closing statements
 each lawyer will highlight the case they presented in
order to sway the jury

48. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
F. Verdict
1) To find the defendant guilty
 the jury must believe that there be enough evidence to
prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the defendant
is guilty
 most states require an unanimous decision

49. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
F. Verdict
2) Acquittal
 is a “not guilty” vote
 the defendant is immediately released

50. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
F. Verdict
3) Hung Jury
 occurs when after several days, the jury can not reach a
unanimous decision
 this does not provide a guilt or not guilty
 the case may be retried until a verdict is reached

51. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
G. Sentencing
 when the defendant is found guilty
 in some states, the jury decides the penalty
 this is when the defendant decides how long they must
spend in prison

52. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
H. Appeal
 a guilty defendant may appeal to a higher court if they
believe that the judge had made errors during the trial