Texas Politics Today, 11th Edition

1
Texas Politics Today, 11th Edition

• Chapter 11
• Law and Due Process

2
Civil and Criminal Law Compared

• Civil Law
• Private rights
• Individual relationships
• Obligations
• Responsibilities
• Plaintiffs initiate suits.
• Remedy is compensation/relief.

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

3
Types of Civil Law
4
Issues in Civil Law

• Tort reform
• placed restrictions on lawsuits because some
  argued that society was going to court for
  frivolous reasons.
  
• Punitive damage
• judgments in excess of actual damages that are
  intended to punish the defendant.
  
• No-fault
• plan would allow an insured person to collect for
  damages from the individuals own insurance
  company regardless or who is at fault in an
  accident.
• Under the present liability plan, its expensive
  to determine who is at fault.

5
The Elements of a Crime

• Federal offenses include crimes
• committed on the high seas
• committed on federal property, territories, and
  reservations
  
• involving crossing of state or national
  boundaries
  
• interfering with interstate commerce
• committed against the national government or its
  employees while they are engaged in official
  duties.
  
• Misdemeanors are minor crimes punishable by the
  county or a fine.

6
The Criminal

• Criminals often are
• Young males
• poor,
• members of racial or ethnic minority groups with
  emotional and social problems.
  
• FBI index crimes
• Americans under eighteen account for 17 of
  crimes
  
• Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible
  rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary,
  theft and motor vehicle theft are measured.
  
• White collar crimes
• usually someone you dont suspect like a
  business man or college professor committing
  crimes such as tax fraud, bribery, business
  fraud, price fixing and embezzlement.

7
Reasons for Crime

• Poverty
• Education
• Urban Life
• Gangs
• Drugs
• Single-parent households

8
The Victim

• Violent Crimes
• Outrage against violent and property crimes is
  higher than towards white-collar crimes
  
• Nonvictim crimes
• Prostitution, drug possession, gambling are
  crimes where the primary victim is the criminal
  themselves.
  
• 50 of Texas murderers knew their victims
• More than half of the Texas murder victims were
  minority.
  
• Texas has experienced a decline in crime.

9
Law Enforcement

• Law enforcement takes
• actions to prevent crime.
• action to detect crime.
• Law enforcement is only able to make an arrest in
  about 22 of cases reported.
  
• Gathering of evidence by law enforcement must be
  done constitutionally.
  
• Probable Cause
• Exclusionary Rule
• Arrest and Detention
• Police may make arrests with or without a warrant
  depending on circumstances.
  
• Citizens may make arrests only for felonies.
• When an individual is detained by law enforcement
  he or she must be advised of their
  Mirandarights.

10
Law Enforcement Agencies

• State Agencies
• Department of Public Safety
• Public Safety Commission
• Alcohol Beverage Commission
• Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards
  and Education

• Local Agencies
• Sheriff
• Deputies
• Constables
• Police

11
The Courts

• The court must blend two goals
• To protect society according to the states legal
  concepts
  
• To protect the rights of the individual

12
The Courts

• Due process legal procedures are essential to
  guarantee fair play before the government may
  deny a person life, liberty, or prosperity.
  
• Pretrial Court Activities
• The accused is presented before a justice of the
  peace or other magistrate. The purpose of this
  arraignment is to
  
• Explain the charges against the accused.
• Remind the suspect of the right to remain silent
  and to counsel and to request a written
  acknowledgement that the warning was given and
  understood.
• Set bail.
• Inform the accused of the right to an examining
  trial.

13
The Courts (cont.)

• The suspect is told the charges
• upon arrest, in the arraignment, and in several
  subsequent proceedings.
  
• Writ of Habeas Corpus
• a court order requiring that the prisoner be
  presented in person and legal cause shown for
  imprisonment.
  
• the accused has the right to counsel.
• Personal recognizance
• the defendants personal promise to appear.
• The accused has the right to an examining trial
  in felony cases

14
Formal Charges

• Pretrial court activities include such actions as
  arraignment, the setting of bail, a second
  reading of the Miranda rights, and establishing
  the right to legal counsel.
• A felony indictment requires action of a grand
  jury.
  
• Grand juries are made up of twelve ordinary
  persons who are responsible for felony
  indictments
  
• A petit jury is used in a trial court to
  determine guilt or innocence.

15
Pretrial Hearings

• This is a second arraignment before a judge
• The formal indictment is read and the accused
  enters a plea.
  
• If a guilty plea is entered, the judge sets a
  punishment date.
  
• Most defendants plead guilty at this point, and
  the case is placed on a docket.
  
• A variety of motions could be made
• Continuance
• Suppression of evidence
• Insanity plea
• Change of venue

16
Plea Bargaining

• Most cases are finalized via plea bargaining.
• Deferred adjudication
• Trial v. Plea bargaining

17
The Trial

• A trial by jury could be waived.
• Texas provides a right to a trial by jury in
  every criminal case.
  
• If waived, the judge decides the verdict.
• During the voir dire, prospective are
  questioned.
  
• Peremptory challenge
• Strikes
• Adversary system
• The jury determines the issue of guilt, but
  sentencing may be made by either the judge or the
  jury.
  
• Punishment for those found guilty may include
• fine, probation, deferred adjudication,
  incarceration, and death by lethal injection

18
The Trial Procedural Guarantees

• Knowledge of the laws
• Evidence
• Compulsory process
• Charge to the jury
• Summary
• Hung jury
• Mistrial
• Probation
• Sentencing

19
Post Trial Proceedings

• To protect a person from double jeopardy, an
  acquitted person cannot be tried again for the
  same offense.
  
• In mistrial cases, another trial may be held.
• A person found not guilty of one offense may be
  tried for a related offense.
  
• The state may appeal the reversal of a guilty
  verdict.
  
• The defendant may appeal a guilty verdict.
• Appellate procedure is designed to review a lower
  courts decision.
  
• If several procedural errors are found, the court
  may return the case to a lower court for retrial
  (not considered double jeopardy).
  
• Once all appeals are exhausted, the federal
  courts might hear the case if a constitutional
  violation is asserted.
  
• Juveniles are treated differently under state law.

20
Rehabilitation and Punishment

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

21
Rehabilitation and Punishment

• Texas Department of Criminal Justice
• Parole
• Clemency
• Board of Pardons and Paroles
• Full pardon
• Commutation
• Reprieve
• Texas Youth Commission
• Jails

• Failure of jails to rehabilitate
• Jails are operated by an elected official, the
  sheriff.
  
• Facilities are designed to maintain , not
  rehabilitate.
  
• Many serving time are held because of gambling,
  prostitution, and drunkenness.