Judicial Institutions

In all legal systems there are institutions for creating, modifying, abolishing and applying the law. Usually these take the form of a hierarchy of courts. The role of each court and its capacity to make decisions is strictly defined in relation to other courts. There are two main reasons for having a variety of courts, one is that a particular court can specialize in particular kinds of legal actions — for example, family courts and juvenile courts. The other is so that a person who feels his case was not fairly treated in a lower court can appeal to a higher court for reassessment (although the right of appeal usually depends upon the appellant being able to show certain reasons for his dissatisfaction). The decisions of a higher court are binding upon lower courts. At the top of the hierarchy is a supreme lawmaktng bodyi but the process of taking an action from a lower court to the highest court may be very time-consuming and costly.

971 symbols

Participants in the Civil Courts

In criminal courts, the closeness of the relationships among these people depends on the regularity with which a set of lawyers comes before a particular judge. Thus, in rural courts and in courts (and court divisions) with jurisdiction over a narrow range of civil cases, a judge may deal frequently with a relatively small group of lawyers. In urban courts with a broad jurisdiction, judges may encounter a much larger group of lawyers, and close working relationships are less likely to develop.

Judges. The great majority of judges spend at least part of their time hearing civil cases. Many judges sit on courts that hear only civil cases, and some specialize even more narrowly, serving permanently on courts or divisions that handle only probate, domestic relations, or bankruptcy cases. In most respects, the powers and responsibilities of judges in civil cases are similar to those in criminal cases.

Attorneys. As in criminal cases, attorneys are usually present in all but the most minor civil cases. Their participation is marked by specialization: lawyers generally concentrate in a few areas of the law, so work in most areas is handled chiefly by specialists and quasispecialists. But in a few common and nontechnical areas, such as estates, many lawyers who are not specialists take occasional cases.

Some areas of law handled in civil courts resemble criminal law in the sense that a particular lawyer always represents only one of the two types of parties that contend in court.

1525 symbols

Preliminary Hearing

If the individual charged with a crime requests a preliminary hearing before a magistrate, the court will set a hearing within a reasonably short time. At the hearing, the state must present sufficient evidence to convince the magistrate that there is reason to believe the defendant has committed the crime with which he is charged. The defendant must be present at this hearing, and he may or may not present evidence on his own behalf,

If the magistrate believes the evidence justifies it, he will order the defendant bound over for trial in the proper court — that is, placed under bond for appearance at trial, or held in jail if the charge involved is not a bailable offence or if the defendant is unable to post bond. The magistrate also may decide that even without bond the accused will most likely appear in court for his trial and therefore will release him on his own recognizance, that is, on his own promise to appear. If he concludes the state has failed to produce sufficient evidence in the preliminary hearing, the magistrate may dismiss the charge and order the defendant released.

1118 symbols