1 / 9

COURT CASES

COURT CASES. Criminal cases can be broken into 3 groups 1. infractions 2. Misdemeanors 3. Felonies. There are two types of court cases: 1. Criminal: A case where someone is accused of breaking the law

annehartman
Download Presentation

COURT CASES

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. COURT CASES

  2. Criminal cases can be broken into 3 groups1. infractions2. Misdemeanors3. Felonies • There are two types of court cases: • 1. Criminal: A case where someone is accused of breaking the law • 2. Civil: A disagreement between two parties where someone is seeking compensation for damages.

  3. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE • There are 5 steps in criminal procedure • 1. A suspect is arrested if the police have a warrant or probable cause. • Probable cause means the police have a valid reason to believe you are breaking the law. • 2. A suspect is either put in jail or released on bail.

  4. Criminal Procedure continued • 3. The suspect is given an arraignment hearing. • An arraignment is a preliminary hearing where three small things are done to prepare for the trial. • a. Probable cause is reviewed • b. The suspect is appointed a lawyer if he does not already have one • c. A trial date is set • 4. The case goes to trial. • 5. A guilty verdict may be appealed.

  5. Criminal Procedure continued • KEY PLAYERS in a Criminal case • A. Defendant- The person accused of a crime • B. The State- The state (or nation if this is in US district court) has accused the defendant of breaking a law. • C. Prosecutor-The lawyer who works for the state and is arguing for a guilty sentence. • D. Judge- Presides over a trial. He will determine the penalty if the defendant is found guilty. If there is no jury, he will decide guilt or innocence. • E. Jury-A group of regular people who are called from the community to hear the case. The jury will determine guilt or innocence.

  6. PLAYERS CONTINUED • F. Magistrate • The magistrate works like the judge except he cannot hear cases and decide a verdict. He can issue warrants, summons, and subpoenas. He can also hear probable cause.

  7. CIVIL PROCEDURE • There are 6 steps in civil procedure • 1. The plaintiff files a complaint to receive damages or compensation • 2. The defendant receives a copy of the complaint as well as a summons • A summons is a letter telling you what date to appear in court 3. The defendant writes a response accepting or denying responsibility.

  8. Civil Procedure continued • 4. Both sides go through a process called discovery (trying to find all the evidence they can). • 5. A trial is conducted • 6. Both sides may appeal if they want

  9. Civil Procedure continued • KEY PLAYERS in a civil case: • A. Plaintiff- The person accusing someone of hurting them • B. Defendant- The person being accused of hurting the plaintiff • C. Judge- Presides over the case. The judge will make no ruling if there is a jury. • D. Jury- A group of regular people called from the community to hear the case. A jury decides whether the defendant is responsible or not. They can also hand down a punishment (how much the defendant has to pay).

More Related