intro to law and order Flashcards
Compromise
Both sides give a little to get alittle
Conflict resolutions
Compromise
Consences building
Negotiation
Arbitration and meditation
Consensus building
Start with things both sides agree on and work from there
Negotiation
Bargaining. A discussion to settle a dispute or difference
Laws
Sets of rules that allow people to live peacefully
Purpose of laws
- Keep peace and prevent violent acts
- Set punishments to discourage potential criminals
- Set the rules for resolving civil disputes (money, property, contracts)
- Should be fair and treat people equally
What were the first laws
Code of Hammurabi
What is the english common law
Greatest contributor to the American legal system in English common law
- system built on precedent
- established the concept of trial by jury and innocent until proven guilty
Foundation of American law
Is central to the American legal system and to the decision making in Supreme Court
Stare decisis
Precedent “let the decision strand “
Due process
Gov. Can’t take life, liberty, property, without the proper excersise of the law (protected in 5th and 14th amendment)
Writ of have is corpus
Requires an official who has made an arrest must bring that person to court and explain why he/she is being held
Bail
A sum of money and arrested person pays to a court in order to win release from jail while waiting on trial
-money is returned if shows up to court
Administrative law
Governs and regulates federal and state agencies Ex) business must comply with a new environment - social security of workers compensation claims
Civil law
Settle disputes between individuals where no law has been broken ex) a person or group sued to collect monetary damage for some harm that has been done. This is called a “Tort”
Plaintiff
Person suing is the plaintiff
Defendant
Person being sued
Criminal law
Adversarial system of justice (1 side against another)
government plays the role of plaintiff brining charges against alleged criminal
Defendant
Is the accused criminal defending himself/ herself against the states charges
Ex) any breach of federal officials state law (aka statutory law) would be persecuted in criminal court
Constitutional law
Refers to cases that requires an interpretation of the U.S. Constitution
These causes are ultimately decided by the Supreme Court
Who is a citizen
14th amendment: by birth it by naturalization
Citizen by birth
- jus soli (by soil)- born on american soil
* jus sanguins (by blood) -both to American parents
Citizen by naturalization
Legal process to become a citizen
Alien: citizen of another country living here
Immagration
-since 1820: about 70 mill immigrants
Who regulates immigration
Congress- approximately 12 mill undocumented people in the us
Rights of immigrants
Can’t vote-can’t have fire arms- yes to due process
Equal protection
Applies o equal treatment as an element of fundamental fairness
Gender protection
Title 9: prohibits educational discrimination including academic, programs and athletics
Judge
In charge of trial
Court reporter
Takes down every word -stenographer
Baliff
Police officer
Jury
12 people on
What is a crime
An act that breaks a federal or state criminal law and causes harm to people or Society in general
Criminal or penal code
Spells out the punishments
Crimes against people
Violent or potentially violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter, assault, rape, and kidnapping
Crimes against people
Burglary, robbery, theft, vandalism, fraud
Misdemeanors
Are less serious crimes that often do not go to trial- traffic infraction, simple assault, possession
Extradition
Someone in nc commits. And crime goes to another state and that states officials catch them the will be sent back to nc
Same treaty with others countries
Grand jury
- a jury that meats to decide if there is enough evidence for a trial
- only prosecutor goes before the grand jury
- grand juries are usually 24 ppl
- grand jury can issue indictments (formal charges)
Steps in a criminal case
- Make arrest
- Preliminary hearing- suspect appears in court and informed charges
- Indictment- the prosecution creates a formal written charge against the suspect
- Arraignment- formally presented charges and please if plea not guilty
- Trial
- Verdict- guilty (sentencing), not guilty (a quoted) and Hung Jury (mistrial)
Plea bargaining
- an agreement to plead guilty and accord a less sever punishment
- the majority of criminal cases are settled by plea bargains
Probation
Convicted, but not put in prison (certain rules)
Incarceration
To be sentence to a prison a prison term
Parole
To be released form prison and closely monetary fine or community service
What amendment prohibits “unreasonable” bail?
The 8th amendment
Capital punishment
The death penalty
Only utilizes in certain types of cases
Three strike rule
In about half of the states, three felony convictions results in a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life
Zero tolerance rule
- punishments are automatic regardless of the individual circumstances
- mostly deal with drugs and weapons at school
Plaintiff in a civil lawsuit
Party bringing the lawsuit claims that a loss has occurred and demands damages and/ or compensation
Defendant in a civil lawsuit
The party being sued argues that they are not responsible for damage or loss
The outcome out of a civil lawsuit
A settlement
Steps in a civil case
- Hire a lawyer
- Plaintiffs lawyer filed a complaint
- Court sends the defendant a summons to appear in a court at a given date and time
- Defendant responds to the charges by filing an answer to the complaint
- Discovery phase
- Plaintiff then the defendant present their sides of the case in a court
- Court issued a verdict
Why are most civil cases resolved before trial?
- outcomes are hard to predict so negotiated settlements give some predictability in the case
- most courts have a backlog of civil cases meaning it could be years waiting on a trial
- trials and legal assistance are so explore that both sides likely wait to end the spending
What can you do if you lose the verdict in a civil case?
You can appeal the decision to a higher court
What is the purpose of a juvenile court?
To rehabilitate of correct a young persons behavior
Juveniles courts handles 2 cases:
- Neglect
2. Delinquency
Defense attorney
Representative of the defendant
Predicting attorneys
Representative of plaintiff
What does it mean if a case ends in a hung jury?
It ends in a mistrial
