LAW

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• CHAPTER 11
• LAW
• AND
• DUE PROCESS

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Civil and Criminal Law Compared

• Civil Law
• Private rights and individual relationships
• Obligations
• Responsibilities
• Plaintiffs initiate suits
• Remedy is relief or compensation

• Criminal Law
• Public Morality
• Concepts of right and wrong
• Public officials prosecute
• Remedy is punishment

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Types of Civil Law, I

• Common law judge-made law, written or not based
  on precedents (prior cases)
• The family is protected by civil law in Texas
• Common-law marriage is recognized and children
  are considered legitimate
• Texas is a community property state
• Titles to homesteads cannot be lost in a civil
  suit except to satisfy tax liens or types of
  loans

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Types of Civil Law, II

• Eminent domain state and local governments may
  take private property for public purposes but
  must provide compensation
• Owners may sue governments to invalidate policies
  that devalue property by 25 or more
• An owner may gain ownership of anothers property
  through adverse possession

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Types of Civil Law, III

• Chartering corporations corporations secure
  permission from the state to conduct their
  legitimate business
• Charters define structure, purpose, and
  activities
• Serve as legal persons who can sue, be sued, or
  be fined for criminal activity

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Issues in Civil Law, IV

• Tort reform restrictions regarding such issues
  as frivolous lawsuits, limiting liability in
  civil cases, and capping jury awards especially
  regarding medical malpractice
• Punitive damage judgments in excess of actual
  damages that are intended to punish the defendant
• No-fault insurance insured persons collecting
  damages from their insurance company regardless
  of who is at fault in an accident

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The Elements of Crime

• The activities of the criminal justice system are
  primarily state, not federal, functions
• A crime is an act that violates whatever an
  authorized body defines as the law
• Types of crime include
• Felonies (serious crimes)
• Misdemeanors (minor crimes)

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The Criminal

• Criminals are those who are unwilling to accept
  the mores the people who write the law
• Disproportionately young, poor, and members of
  racial or ethnic minority groups
• In 2005 males accounted for 90 of Texans
  arrested for burglary, 88 for robbery, and 79
  for aggravated assault
• Minority group members are arrested
  disproportionately for crime
• Most violent crimes are committed by those who
  are on the fringe of society
• White-collar crimes include bribery, tax fraud,
  business fraud, price fixing, and embezzlement

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The Victim

• Outrage against crime is largely directed toward
  violent crimes such as murder, rape, and robbery
• Victimless crimes are those whose primary victims
  are the criminals themselves
• Victims have the right to be informed of
  investigations and court proceedings against the
  accused and have impact statements taken into
  account during sentencing

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Law Enforcement

• The state system of law enforcement was not
  planned for efficiency and coordination but
  evolved slowly as government reacted haphazardly
  to changing circumstances

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State Agencies, I

• The Department of Public Safety (DPS) considered
  to be the most important
• Director is appointed by the Public Safety
  Commission
• Several divisions dealing with vehicle
  inspections, collecting crime statistics,
  narcotics, intelligence
• The largest division is the highway patrol
• The most famous division is the Texas Rangers

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State Agencies, II

• The Alcoholic Beverage Commission enforces
  state regulations regarding the manufacture,
  sale, and possession of alcoholic beverages
• The Commission on Law Enforcement officer
  Standards and Education sets minimum legal
  qualifications for peace officers and their
  training

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Local Agencies

• Up to 30 of total budgets for large cities and
  counties go to law enforcement
• Texas state government spends only about 1
• The principal units are
• Sheriffs departments
• Constables
• City police

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What the Police Agencies Do

• Prevent crime
• Detect crime
• Enforcement of the law
• Gather evidence
• Arrest suspects
• Detention

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The Courts, I

• The courts must blend two conflicting goals of
  society
• To protect society according to legal concepts of
  right and wrong
• To protect the rights of the accused individual

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The Courts, II

• After an arrest the suspect is jailed and an
  arraignment is held for the purposes of
• To explain the charges against the accused
• To remind the suspect of their rights (Miranda
  warnings)
• To set bail
• To inform the accused of the right to an
  examining trial

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Formal Charges

• Felony cases are usually bound over to a grand
  jury for indictment after arraignment
• Is there a prima facie case?
• If so, then a true bill is issued by the grand
  jury
• If not, then a no bill is issued

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Pretrial Hearings

• After an indictment a defendant has the right to
  a second arraignment
• A district judge presides
• The defendant enters a plea
• The case is placed on the docket
• Motions are presented

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Plea Bargaining

• Most cases end in a plea bargain due to
  overcrowded dockets and limited staffs. The
  results may include
• Deferred adjudication
• Lighter sentences than what was possible at trial

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The Trial

• Texas provides for the right to trial by jury in
  every criminal case
• If a jury trial is waived the presiding judge
  determines the verdict
• If it goes to trial, then a jury is selected and
  an adversary system is used to determine guilt or
  innocence
• Judges have great latitude in assessing penalties

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Post Trial Proceedings

• To protect a person from double jeopardy, an
  acquitted person cannot be tried again for the
  same offense
• Prosecutors may appeal the reversal of a verdict
  by a higher court
• Defendants may appeal guilty verdicts
• Appeals from county and district courts go to 1
  of 14 courts of appeal
• Very few trials are appealed to the federal
  courts except in cases of violations of the U.S.
  Constitution or federal law

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Juvenile Courts

• Most due process is recognized except rights to
  bail, grand jury indictments, and a public trial
• Juvenile proceedings are civil matters and
  records may be sealed from the public
• Juvenile felony arrest warrants may be entered
  into statewide computers
• Children as young as 14 arrested for serious
  crimes may be tried as adults

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Rehabilitation and Punishment, I

• Texas jails and penitentiaries have several
  functions
• Punishment
• Deterrence
• Protection of society
• Rehabilitation

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Rehabilitation and Punishment, II

• The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates
  the systems of parole and imprisonment
• The Board of Pardons and Paroles may recommend
  one of three types of clemency to the governor
• Full pardons
• Commutation
• Reprieve

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Jails

• Jails generally fail to rehabilitate due to
• Jails being operated by an elected official, the
  sheriff
• Jail staffs and facilities are designed to
  maintain custody, not rehabilitate
• Many in local jails serve time for crimes
  (gambling, prostitution, drunkenness) which are
  not amenable to rehabilitation in a jail

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