Courts, Crimes, Courtroom Procedures Flashcards
Structure of U.S./Federal court system
District, Circuit, Supreme
Lowest level Federal Court, appeal to circuit court
District court
Second highest level Federal Court, handle all appeals from district court
Circuit Court
South Carolina Circuit Court
4th Circuit Court
Highest level of Federal Court
U.S. Supreme Court
S.C. Courts
Summary-Magistrate/City, Circuit-Civil/Criminal, Family Court, Probate Court, Master-in-Equity, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court
Issues search and arrest warrants, Sets bail for crimes except cases involving life or death, Hears trials in criminal cases where the maximum penalty is $500 fine and thirty (30) days imprisonment
Summary-Magistrate Court
Same criminal powers as Magistrate courts, Also hear cases involving violations of city ordinances
Summary-City/Municipal Court
Two branches: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters, Trial court that hears all cases not heard by Summary courts, Hears appeals from Summary courts, Sets bond for cases involving life or death sentences
S.C. Circuit Court
Generally, has jurisdiction over all cases involving domestic matters and cases concerning the welfare or behavior of any child under the age of 18, Juvenile criminal/delinquency cases are heard by this court, No jury trials
Family Court
Has jurisdiction over matters involving wills, estates, guardian ad litem and mental competency issues. It does NOT have any criminal jurisdiction
Probate Court
Best thought of as a court of “fairness”, Has jurisdiction over matters referred to it from Circuit Court, foreclosure, partition of real and personal property, and guardian ad litem, does not have any criminal jurisdiction
Master-in-Equity
Reviews criminal and civil cases from lower courts, Hears all criminal appeals except death penalty cases, Is a “court of law”
S.C. Court of Appeals
Highest authority for appeal in South Carolina
S.C. Supreme Court
S.C. Supreme Court hears appeals in 2 ways
direct appeals, writ of certiorari
7 categories of cases that go directly to S.C. Supreme Court
death, penalty, public utility rates
discretion of the Supreme Court to hear or not hear cases as it
chooses. If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, it will grant a
writ of certiorari
first example of a written code of laws comes from ancient
Sumeria in modern-day Iraq
is a harm against society
criminal law
is a harm against an individual
civil law
S/He is entitled to:
(1) A speedy trial
(2) A jury trial
(3) Be tried in the county where the crime was committed, and
(4) Be confronted by witnesses against him.
b. S/He is also entitled to:
(1) Counsel for his/her defense,
(2) A privilege against self-incrimination,
(3) Compulsory process for obtaining witnesses on his/her behalf
Accused’s Rights in a Criminal Trial
covers both civil and criminal matters
Common law
a party’s duty to prove a disputed assertion or charge, level of evidence a party must present in order to be successful at any given stage in the legal process
Burden of proof
The doubt that prevents one from being firmly convinced of a defendant’s guilt, or the belief that there is a real possibility that a defendant is not guilty
reasonable doubt
