Final Review Flashcards
Order of a Trial (Criminal Trial)
- Arrest
- Indictment
- Arraignment
- Trial
- Sentencing
Parties involved in Trials
Witnesses, etc.
Justiciable controversy
Limits federal judicial power and include rules that the Supreme Court has crafted to determine:
1) Whether there is a sufficient ‘case or controversy’ that the court may decide on under Article III of the Constitution, or
2) Whether there are prudential limits which bar courts from exercising judicial review.
Diversity Jurisdiction in Federal courts
- Parties who are in different states.
2. $75,000 minimum amount
Difference between General and limited Jurisdiction
General- Can hear most cases
Limited- Ex. Bankruptcy court or dollar amount
Collin County is in the ?
Eastern District
Highest court in the U.S.
U.S. Supreme Court (9 Justices)
Texas Highest Court
- Texas Supreme Court
2. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
How does a case get to the Supreme Court
- Writ of certiorari (an order issued by the Supreme Court to a lower court requiring the lower court to send it the record of the case for review. The Court will issue a writ only if at least 4 of the 9 justices vote to do so).
Original Jurisdiction
First time a case has appeared before a court in trial
Appellate Jurisdiction
Has to go through the hierarchy of courts before it appears before the Supreme Courts
Common Law
Based on case law from England
Civil Law
Coming from the French and is statutory
United States Constitution is:
The highest law of the land
Bill of Rights
First 10 amendments to the constitution.
1. Freedom of Speech
2. Right to Bear Arms
3.
4. Unreasonable Search and Seizure
5. Due Process, Double Jeopardy, Right to not incriminate yourself
6.
7.
8. Cruel and unusual punishment, excessive bail, fines
9.
10.
Precedent
Has to be binding authority from a higher court
Case on all fours
A case in which all 4 elements (the parties, the circumstances, the legal issues involved, and the remedies sought by the plaintiff) are as similar as possible to those in your case.
Judicial Opinion
Judges comments regarding the court’s holding on a court.
Affirms
Remands, etc.
What does UPL mean?
Unauthorized Practice of Law
Paralegal’s ethical obligation to identify oneself as a paralegal
A Paralegal must not misrepresent herself as a lawyer and must be forthcoming as to status.
Double billing, what is it and examples
Billing more than one client for the same billable time period.
Conflict of Interest
Ethical walls and a waiver deal with conflict but do not prevent conflict. Conflict check can prevent conflict of Interest
Paralegal meetings with clients
Make client’s comfortable
Active listening
Clarifying questions
Goal of Client or witness interviews
Gather information or facts
Know different types of billing
Fixed Fee
Hourly Fee
Contingency Fee
Alternative Fee Arrangement
Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Mediation
- Negotiation
- Arbitration
- Collaborative Law
- Court-Referred ADR
Different punishments for different crimes
- Misdemeanors
- Felonies
- Capital offenses
Felony
Punishable in prison for more than 1 year
2 questions on:
Reporter system- What regional reporter publishes Texas decisions. Doesn’t publish all decisions
Southwestern Reporter
Hornbooks and how they got their name?
Written by law professors. One topic.
Not written by a professor named Horn.
Yes- Bound in horn-like material.
Different law firm roles
Lawyers v. Paralegal, managing partner, associate partner, etc.
State sovereignty
A rule that states can govern how they see fit as long as it’s not in conflict with federal law
Statutes
A written law enacted by a legislature under its constitutional lawmaking authority.
Fruit of the poisonous tree
If something happens that is illegal or should otherwise be excluded, everything stemming from that should not be used in a case.
Ex. Illegal search and seizure cannot use illegally obtained evidence
The difference between venue and jurisdiction
Venue- The geographic location that the trial will be held
Jurisdiction- What authority the court has to hear the case
Types of jurisdiction
- Jurisdiction over Persons- ex. Long arm statute
- Jurisdiction over Property
- Jurisdiction over Subject Matter- ex. probate, bankruptcy, etc.
- Original and Appellate Jurisdiction
Order of venue
Occurrence
Defendant’s residence
Office
R(plaintiffs)
Exclusive Jurisdiction
One court that has jurisdiction
Concurrent Jurisdiction
More than one court may have jurisdiction
Attorney sanctions
- Reprimand- A rebuke
- Suspension- Prohibited from practicing in the state for a period of time
- Disbarment- Most serious. License is revoked in the state.
General business organization
Partnership, etc.
Civil v. Criminal trial - Who brings
Civil- Plaintiff
Criminal- Prosecuting attorney
Burden of Proof
Civil-Preponderance of the evidence
Criminal - Beyond a reasonable doubt
Rights of a criminal defendant
- Right to speedy and public trial
- Right to confront witnesses
- Right to an attorney in certain cases
- No automatic right to appeal
Know what citations look like
Case Name–Volume Number–Name of Book–Page Number–Year
Know the difference between case citation v. statute citation
State citation cites the state case.
Statute citation cites the statute (law)
Legal Writing
Do not use passive voice in legal writing
How to prepare for interviews, questions to ask and avoid
- Know the goal of the interview.
- Have topics to discuss
- Prepare a checklist or outline
- Be flexible
- Ask follow-up questions
- Use interpersonal skills
- Don’t use legalese
- Put the person at ease
- Mask emotions
- Active listening
5th Circuit made up of:
Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
3 branches of government and what they do
- Executive
- Judicial
- Legislative
Fixed Fee
A fee paid to the attorney by his or her client for having provided a specified legal service, such as the creation of a simple will.
Hourly Fee
A charge by the hour for work done.
Contingency Fee
A legal fee that consists of a specified percentage of the amount that the plaintiff recovers in a civil lawsuit. The fee is paid only if the plaintiff wins the lawsuit (recovers damages).
Alternative Fee Arrangement
An alternative fee arrangement such as “task-based billing”. It is similar to a fixed-fee arrangement: fixed fees are charged for specific types of tasks that are involved in a legal matter.
Major legal Encyclopedias
Cover hundreds of topics in more than 140 volumes. Topics are presented alphabetically, and each topic is divided into subtopics. Supplemented with pocket parts.
Pocket part
A pamphlet containing recent cases or changes in the law that is used to update legal encyclopedias and other legal authorities. It is called a ‘pocket part’ because it slips into a pocket, or sleeve, in the front or back binder of the volume.
Reporter
A book in which court cases are published, or reported.
Case Digest
A compilation in which brief summaries of court cases are arranged by subject and subdivided by jurisdiction and court.
Treatises
In legal research, a work that provides a systematic, detailed, and scholarly review of a particular legal subject
Hornbook
A single-volume scholarly discussion, or treatise, on a particular legal subject.
Restatement of the Law
Judges often rely on as a persuasive authority when making decisions. They contain a statement of the principles of law that are generally accepted by the courts or embodied in statutes, followed by a discussion of those principles.
Legal periodicals
Law reviews and law journals that are important secondary sources of law.
Statutory Law
The body of written laws enacted by the legislature.
Federal system
The system of government established by the Constitution, in which the national government and the state governments share sovereign power.
