Unit A-Business Law Essential Standard 1.00

1
Unit A-Business LawEssential Standard 1.00

• Objective 1.02
• Understand Court Systems
• and Trial Procedures

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Federal Courts

• U. S. Supreme Court
• highest court in land
• both original and appellate jurisdiction
• exercises its appellate jurisdiction over cases
  from lower courts
• U. S. Court of Appeals
• appellate jurisdiction over the district courts,
  certain specialized federal courts and many
  Federal agencies.
• do not accept any new evidence or call
  witnesses.
• review the trial transcripts, legal briefs and
  oral arguments from attorneys.
• 13 Federal Courts of Appeal - 12 of these are
  Circuit Courts and each is assigned a
  geographic area of the U. S.
• thirteenth court is assigned to the federal
  circuit
• handles appealed patent cases from district
  court
• handles appeals from courts with special
  jurisdictions.
• U. S. District Courts
• lowest level of Federal court with general
  jurisdiction
• first to hear the dispute in the Federal system
• power to determine the facts and make initial
  determinations
• original jurisdiction on Federal cases that fall
  under the Constitution, U. S. Law and U. S.
  treaties and between a U. S. citizen and a
  foreign nation or a foreign citizen.

3
N. C. State Courts

• N. C. Supreme Court
• states highest court
• Chief Justice and six associate justices
• decide cases appealed from lower courts,
  including from the Court of Appeals.
• no jury
• makes no determinations of fact
• considers only questions of law
• means resolving a partys claim that there were
  errors in legal procedures or in judicial
  interpretation of the law in the trial court or
  the Court of Appeals.
• N. C. Court of Appeals
• intermediate appellate court
• fifteen judges
• sit in panels of three to hear cases with one
  Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals appointed
  by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
• decides only questions of law

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N. C. State Courts (continued)

• N. C. Superior Court
• trial court divisions
• to determine the facts of cases
• general jurisdiction.
• N. C. District Court
• hold trials to determine the facts of cases
• Magistrates Court
• both civil and criminal matters
• preside over small claims "court
• conduct certain preliminary proceedings and
  are authorized to dispose of some criminal
  cases by pleas of guilty or by trial.

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N. C. State Courts (continued)

• Civil Court
• civil jurisdiction of the trial court divisions
  the superior court and district court is
  concurrent
• Criminal Court
• criminal jurisdiction
• depends on the type of offense charged
• with a few exceptions, the superior court has
  exclusive jurisdiction over all felonies.
• Juvenile Court
• exclusive, original jurisdiction over all
  juvenile cases
• children under the age of sixteen who are
  accused of being delinquent and children
  under the age of eighteen who are
  undisciplined, abused, neglected or
  dependent.
• all records of juvenile proceedings are
  confidential and not open to the public.

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Trial Procedures

• Criminal Cases
• Arrest
• a person who has allegedly committed a felony
  offense or a serious misdemeanor offense that
  does not meet the requirements for a person to be
  released on a signature summons.
• Initial Bail
• the arrested person is taken before a magistrate
  and based on the charge, circumstances and the
  offenders prior criminal record, the magistrate
  sets an initial bail-bond amount in order for the
  person charged to be released.
• Arraignment/Initial Hearing
• the charged person is brought before a judge to
  determine probable cause to have the case heard
  by a grand jury for possible indictment (if a
  felony charge). This arraignment is also used to
  change or set any bail requirements.

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Trial Procedures (Continued)

• Criminal Cases (continued)
• Grand Jury
• panel of eighteen citizens
• randomly drawn from the same pool as those
  selected for jury duty for a trial
• determine if probable cause exists for the case
  to go to trial

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Civil Cases

• Complainant (Plaintiff)
• person or entity bringing or filing the lawsuit.
  
• Defendant
• person or entity against which the lawsuit is
  brought
• Complaint
• initial pleading by which a lawsuit is begun
• Answer
• response to a civil complaint
• Summons
• issued by the Clerk of Court
• official notice of the lawsuit
• Pleadings

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Trial Procedures

• Steps to a Trial
• (Criminal and Civil)
• Jury Selection
• attorneys for both prosecution (plaintiff if
  civil) are allowed to strike a specific number
  of jurors without justification referred to as
  Voir dire
• Opening Statement
• beginning of the trial
• limited to outlining facts
• set the basic scene for the jurors
• introduce them to the core dispute(s) in the
  case
• provide a general road map of how the trial is
  expected to unfold

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Steps to a Trial (Criminal and Civil)

• Testimony
• declaration by a witness under oath, as that
  given before a court or deliberative body
• Evidence Presentation
• Item such as a coroner's report, a weapon in a
  criminal case or photographs in a civil case
  that can help corroborate or refute the testimony
  of other witnesses
• Closing Arguments
• opportunity to remind jurors about key evidence
  presented and to persuade them to adopt an
  interpretation favorable to each sides position
• Jury Instructions
• given by the trial judge
• specifically state what the defendant can be
  found guilty of and what the prosecution or
  plaintiff has to prove in order for a guilty
  verdict.

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Steps to a Trial (Criminal and Civil)

• Jury Deliberation
• jury is charged to find the defendant guilty or
  not guilty
• in criminal case by all 12 members
• in civil case by the majority of the jurors in
  a civil trial
• Verdict/Sentence
• in a criminal trial the jury must make a
  decision beyond a reasonable doubt
• in a civil trial the jury must make a decision
  by a preponderance of the evidence.
• in a civil case the verdict is sometimes called
  a judgment.