...Component: Georgia Court System, April 6, 2014 | | | The state court system is the second component of the dual-court system of the American court system. With the passing of the Reorganization Act of 1801, state court systems began to follow a “three-tiered structure of trial courts of limit jurisdiction, trial courts of general jurisdiction and appellate courts” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 206). The Georgia court system is composed of five classes of trial level courts, which include the magistrate, probate, juvenile, state and superior courts; in addition to those five trial level courts, the Georgia court system also includes about three hundred fifty municipal courts, which operate on a local basis. The Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court make up the two appellate level courts of the Georgia court system (Georgiacourts.gov, 2014). The magistrate court is a trial court of limited jurisdiction, and the magistrate court of the Georgia court system includes one hundred fifty-nine courts and chief magistrates and three hundred thirty-three magistrates (AOC, 2014). The magistrate courts “issue warrants, hear minor criminal offenses and civil claims involving amounts of $15,000 or less,” “it is the first resort for many civil disputes…in criminal matters magistrates hold preliminary hearings, issue search warrants to law enforcement and also warrants for the arrest of a particular person…or set bail for defendants” (Georgiacourts.gov, 2014). The magistrate court “does not hold...
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...world. It features five layers of courts, several instances of overlapping jurisdiction, and a bifurcated appellate system at the top level. The structure of the system is laid out in Article 5 of the Texas Constitution. The Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Appeals has a bifurcated appellate system at the highest level. Civil case appeals by the Texas Supreme Court, which also maintains the responsibility for licensing attorneys. For appeals on criminal cases those got to The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In times where the Death Penalty is in question cases are automatically and directly appealed to this court, bypassing the intermediate appellate court level. Jurisdictions between the two are not shared; all civil cases go to the Texas Supreme Court hears all civil cases while the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hears all criminal cases. However, there is one area where the Texas Supreme Court impacts criminal law which is juvenile law. Juvenile proceedings are considered civil in nature; so, the Supreme Court hears such cases. As a general rule, the Texas Supreme Court defers to the Court of Criminal Appeals when it comes to interpreting the Texas Penal Code in juvenile cases. The state of Oklahoma and Texas are the only states where this type of appellate system is at the highest level. The state of Texas has 14 Courts of Appeals, which have intermediate appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases. Each court has between three and 13 justices...
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...Court Systems in the State of Virginia Kimberly Vega Business Law Professor Kent Court Systems in the State of Virginia The structure of the court system in the state of Virginia contains several different courts of varying levels which ultimately form the Virginia Judicial System. These courts are broken down by specific function with several courts falling on the same general level albeit with key functions that separate them from the rest. Virginia’s judicial system is comprised of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and circuit courts in 31 judicial circuits. General District as well as Juvenile and Domestic Relations district courts exist in 32 judicial circuits, as do magistrate offices. The magistrate offices serve the Commonwealth of Virginia through 32 judicial districts. The primary function of the magistrate office is to ensure the eligibility of bail for an arrested person by conducting probable cause hearings. These hearings are based on complaints of criminal behavior that are brought to the magistrate’s attention either via law enforcement officials or by the general public. This is typically the first step in the hierarchy of Virginia’s judicial court system. The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court (JDRC) serves the Commonwealth of Virginia in all 32 judicial districts as well. This court system has a limited jurisdiction, focusing specifically on trial cases...
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...Civil Court Structure European Court Of Justice European Court Of Justice Supreme Court Supreme Court Court of Appeal Court of Appeal High Court High Court County Court County Court Criminal Court Structure European Court Of Justice European Court Of Justice Supreme Court Supreme Court Court Of Appeal Court Of Appeal Crown Court Crown Court Magistrate Court Magistrate Court Youth Court Youth Court County Court is a small court and they deal with £5000 or less. Usually these cases relate to faulty goods/ service or landlord/ tenant disputes. To bring a case forward a claim form must be filled out and a fee is paid. These forms need to give full details about the claim. This process is completed by the plaintiff. This form is then sent to the defendant and they have 14 days to reply. The rest if the county court deals with low level civil matters. There are approximately 250 County Courts in England and wales, there are 7 in Northern Ireland. They deal with jurisdiction matters of tort, land matters and also trust. The county court sometimes deals with cases between £5000 and £15000, but they cases can be fast-tracked. The small claims courts is a process of arbitration. The County Court is a more formal process. High court is based in Royal Courts of Justice in London, these are the regional centres. The high Court is split into three different sections which are as follow; Queens Bench, Chancery and Family. This type...
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...treated just as adults were. They would receive the same sentences and were placed in the same jail facilities. Now are juvenile system is not perfect, and need more improvements, but with society, and ever changing crimes, the juvenile system is always hard at work, facing the new challenges and seeking improvements. Juveniles that commit crimes are no longer considered criminals, but instead juvenile delinquents. If the child is of a certain age in some states, or the crime is a violent felony, such as rape, or murder, the child can be treated as an adult, making him or her criminal and trialed as an adult in a criminal court of law. The juvenile offender is treated different than an adult offender. The juvenile court system’s main concerns are for the safety, privacy and rehabilitation of the minor offender. The most signifying differences as stated by Attorney LaMance, Ken, “Juveniles are not prosecuted for committing crimes, but rather delinquent acts. When the delinquent acts are very serious, they may be considered crimes and the juvenile may be tried in the adult system. Juveniles don't have a right to a public trial by jury. For a juvenile charged with a crime, the trial portion of the case involves a judge hearing evidence and ruling on whether or not the minor is delinquent. This is called an adjudication hearing. Once the juvenile has been deemed delinquent, the court will determine what action should be taken. This stage differs from the adult system in the purpose...
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...Supreme Court consists of eight associate justices and one chief justice who are petitioned more than 5,000 times a year to hear various cases (Before the Court in Miller V. Alabama, 2012). At its discretion, the Supreme Court selects which cases they choose to review. Some of the selected cases began in the state court system and others began in the federal court system. On June 25, 2012 the justices of the Supreme Court weighed in on the constitutionality of life without parole for juvenile offenders. The case was Miller v. Alabama and actually included another case, Jackson v Hobbs, as well (2012). Both were criminal cases involving 14 year old boys who were convicted of murder and sentenced to a mandatory sentence of life without parole (2012). In 2009, juvenile courts in the United States handled an estimated 1.5 million delinquency cases that involved juveniles charged with criminal law violations (Knoll & Sickmund, (2012). What made Miller and Jackson so special that the Supreme Court chose to hear the case was their age and the mandatory minimum sentence each of them received at the lower level jurisdictional court. To highlight the significance, a review of the two respective cases is necessary. Additionally, after reading this paper the reader will have a better understanding of what accomplice liability and criminal liability are, and the differences between the various elements of crime, and how liability and the elements of crime relate to the reviewed case. Evan...
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...Court System Paper Jeffery Seigler AJS/502 11/10/2014 Donald Savell The Court system in America is one of the best court system in the world and each of the states inside the United States has its own unique system that they operate under. Each state has state laws and rules that are unique to their state and jurisdiction. There are different levels of the court system with each level performing a specific job and duty under the Constitution of America. So in this paper I will discuss the different levels of the court system and the function that they do. I will also give an overview of a major criminal court proceeding and discuss the elements and components of the court system. I will also identify and describe the distinguished features of the major court system ranging from the state-level Superior Courts, the Federal District Courts, through the U.S. Supreme Court. The State of South Carolina, Respondent V. Jarmel L. Rice, Appellant The Appellant in this case Mr. Rice plead guilty to one count of assault with the intent to kill and three counts of armed robbery and was sentence to 11 years in prison. At the time of this conviction Mr. Rice was only 15 years of age at the time and after a contested waiver from family court his case was sent to general sessions court were his sentence was handed down which bring us in front of the courts of appeals. Mr. Rice and his defense attorney Mr. Robert M. Pachak are arguing that Mr. Rice...
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...and Sentencing Abstract In general, a juvenile cannot be tried in an adult court. All states have the ability to try juveniles in adult courts under certain conditions such as statutory exclusion, judicial waiver, and concurrent jurisdiction. In juvenile courts, a juvenile is entitled to Due Process Rights that include a transfer hearing before trial in adult court, notice of charges, and assistance of counsel, amongst others. However, juveniles are not entitled to a trial by jury, mandatory presence of parents during interrogation, and right against preventative detention. Punishment and Sentencing In general, a juvenile cannot be tried in an adult court. Instead, crimes committed by juveniles are handled in special juvenile courts that have limited jurisdiction, which is determine based on the offender being under the age of seventeen and above a state defined minimum age. All states have the ability to try juveniles in adult courts under certain conditions such as statutory exclusion, judicial waiver, and concurrent jurisdiction. Under statutory exclusion, juveniles that are generally older and commit crimes of a serious or violent nature can be tried as an adult. Under a judicial waiver, the juvenile court judge has the ability to send the case to an adult court. State statutes guide the juvenile court judge in determining which cases can be judicially waived. In doing so, a juvenile court judge must hold a waiver hearing to give due process protections to the...
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... A juvenile court is a tribunal having special authority to try and pass judgment’s for crimes Committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern Legal systems, children and adolescents who commit a crime are treated differently from legal adults who have committed the same crime. A juvenile court may hear juvenile cases ranging from truancy to drug dependency issues. The parents or guardians of juveniles are usually required to appear and participate in the disposition of their child case. Disposition can include the parents or guardian being fined for not getting their child to school as required. Juvenile cases are handled differently than adult criminal cases. Instead of criminal district or county court, juvenile cases are heard by a juvenile court judge. There are many differences exist between the adult and juvenile court systems. At its core, the adult court system focuses on deterrence and justice as the rationale for prosecuting offenders whereas the juvenile system commits to rehabilitating delinquent youths into upstanding citizens. Nonetheless, both adult and juvenile courts protects the public and enforce laws, meaning that the overarching procedure remain the same. Another differences between juvenile and adult court is adult court you have bail hearing ,trail, complaint or indictment ,defendant, verdict and guilty. Where in minor court you have detention...
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...Guam Unified Court System Research Paper for Judicial Process Instructor: Doctor Elberg By Donna Halbrook Guam Unified Court System The Judiciary of Guam is pleased to join the United States of America as the fifty-first state. The newest chapter of our judiciary journey begins with some major objectives in mind. One of these objectives is to increase access to justice for every member of our community. Another major objective is to ensure the Judiciary serves as a model of good governance. We will promote accountability, performance, and transparency (Torres 2010). The new court will be a unified court system, very serving and strong at the foundation levels where we meet the people at. We will start at the foundation and build to the highest court, the State Supreme Court of Guam. Supreme Court Court of Appeals [Problem Solving Courts] Foundation Courts Foundation Courts: Problem Solving Courts | Village Court | Trial Court | Family Court | Village Courts The Village Courts will play a vital role in the Guam State Unified Court System. These courts have broad jurisdiction and they hear both civil and criminal matters (New York State Office of Court Administration 1996-2011). In Guam, this will be for the smaller but very numerous legal affairs of our citizens. There will be a Village Court associated with each of the four police precincts, thus embracing the entire population of Guam. The offices and chambers for these courts will be in close...
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...Illinois State Court’s website I realized it was surprisingly a little hard to understand for the information I needed to provide for this assignment. One might assume that because our president is from the state of Illinois that their state court website would be a little easier laid out and better to understand, but I found it quite the opposite. Therefore, I chose to do this assignment on the state of Ohio. I look at Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio and just liked how Ohio’s website was laid out. In every government there are three different branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. What does each of them mean? Executive branch is responsible for carrying out the laws of the state, legislative state is given the power of legislating which means to make or enact laws for a state, and lastly judicial is responsible for the administration of justice. These three branches are so very important to every state and make the government go round’, without the legislative branch the executive branch would not even seize a purpose and without the judicial branch we would not have a set standard of the way we handle things when laws are broken. The structure in the courtroom in the state of Ohio is as follows: state appellate courts, and state trial courts. When dealing with law they follow an outline of the way things need to be ran just like everyone else. Therefore the sources are state structures, state penal codes and local regulations. State structures, state penal codes and local...
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...schools or parents. Some cases a juvenile can directly brought to an intake officer by a policer other and other times a complaint could’ve been failed by a neighbor. When a juvenile is taken into custody, the intake officer is responsible for what’s in the best interest for the juvenile. The purpose of an intake officer is to handle the juvenile who is in need of protection in violation of status offenses and criminal offenses. The first step taken, when...
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...CampusExplorer.com/CSI Read more: Role & Duties of a District Attorney | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_7774779_role-duties-district-attorney.html#ixzz1tRSozElQ Read more: Assistant District Attorney Job Description | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6678588_assistant-district-attorney-job-description.html#ixzz1tRTlS8rU Read more: Assistant District Attorney Job Description | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6678588_assistant-district-attorney-job-description.html#ixzz1tRTwBvmX * Read more: Assistant District Attorney Job Description | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6678588_assistant-district-attorney-job-description.html#ixzz1tRU8Bc2n Police Investigate Filing of Criminal Complaint After an alleged crime is investigated, the police initiate the criminal procedure by filing a complaint with the Magisterial District Judge (MDJ) in the area that the crime occurred. Once the complaint is filed, the MDJ will issue either a summons or a warrant of arrest, depending generally on the seriousness of the offense alleged. If issued a summons, the defendant will be notified of the date of their preliminary hearing in the summons. Preliminary Arraignment If a warrant of arrest is issued by the MDJ, or if the process was initiated by a warrantless arrest, the defendant must appear before the MDJ for a preliminary arraignment. The defendant will be provided with a copy of the...
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...U.S. Supreme Court Case CJA/354 Criminal Law The Supreme Court of the United States is the Nation’s highest court, and was established on 4, March 1789; the court is made up of a Chief Justice and five Associated Justices. From the time the United States established the Supreme Court there has been 112 Justices of the court, including 17 Chief Justices ("United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary ", n.d.). Over the years the United States Supreme Court has heard cases brought on by one state against another, between state and federal government known as “original jurisdiction” actions, cases from state courts, and cases brought up of reviewable decisions made in federal appellate or district courts ("Supreme Court Historical Society ", n.d.). The case being used for this paper has two separate cases involved, but I will only be using one as a reference. The two cases in which were brought to the United States Supreme Court together are very similar and involve teens being given life sentences without the possibility of parole for committing murder. The United States Supreme Courts case number is 10-9646, Miller v. Alabama. This case was brought to the United States Supreme Court on 20, March 2012, involving two fourteen year old boys, whom were found guilty of murder in two separate cases, and also from two separate states, one being Alabama and the other being that of Arkansas. With in each of these cases one of the boys did the killing and...
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...commit delinquent acts, and some of these acts would constitute as crimes if committed by an adult. The trial phase of a juvenile case is called an adjudication hearing. This is when the judge hears the evidence and makes a determination whether the child is delinquent or not. The court may then take whatever action it deems necessary to be in the child's best interest. The purpose of the juvenile court is to rehabilitate, not to punish. However, the clash point in this debate is whether juveniles are mature enough to handle the consequences of their actions and as well be punished more severely in adult courts, if they commit more serious crimes. One of the basic problems and source of this debate is determining where to draw the line. A crime is still considered a crime, no matter who commits it. That is the attitude of many in this country that leads to the question of whether or not the whole juvenile system should be discarded and allow the judicial system of criminal courts to try both children and adults under the same law, with the same rules. Here are a few points that will help elaborate on why eradicating the juvenile system might be considered a bad idea. On most occasions, we'll find that the kids who have committed a crime are as young as 9 and 10. It is an understood and even proven in facts that a child at an age like this, dose not have the mental ability like that of an adult, to plan and execute any crime and moreover to understand the consequences of his/her actions...
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