Criminal Case Vs Civil Case

Original jurisdiction refers to where the case starts. Appellate jurisdiction means that the court reviews the decision from the other court. Meaning, if you are prosecuted for a crime, the court where the trial would be held, has the original jurisdiction. Furthermore, the US Supreme Court generally is a court of an appellate jurisdiction, but it does have original jurisdiction for cases regarding ambassadors, or other public ministers. The court that reviews the decision of the trial from the lower court, would have appellate jurisdiction. Moreover, if you lose in court you can ask a higher court, an appellate court to consider whether or not your trial followed the law correctly. If you lose in the appellate court you can ask the highest court in the land which is the United States Supreme Court. Genuine jurisdiction is different entirely from special jurisdiction. General jurisdiction has the power of the court to hear only certain types of cases, and if the amount of controversy is below a certain amount, is more times than less subject to exceptions. Courts of the general jurisdiction are often called District Courts or Superior Courts. Jurisdiction may also be referred to the origin of the court's authority. A court may be designated either as a court of general jurisdiction or as a court of special jurisdiction. A court of general

“The primary function of American criminal courts is to determine the legal guilt of the accused—that is, to determine if a person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing a crime”, they essentially take over where police left off (Robinson, 2009). Though courts do much more than find people innocent or guilty, they also are “responsible for determining bail, conducting preliminary hearings (or grand juries), ruling on the admissibility of evidence, and determining the appropriate sentence when a finding of guilty has been reached” (Robinson, 2009). Though they perform many functions for the criminal justice system, there are many issues still facing the courts today. In this paper I will be identifying

Bergman, Paul J.D. & Berman, Sara J. J.D. (2011) The Criminal Law Handbook, 12th Edition. Know your rights, survive the system.

In circuit courts dealing with criminal cases, the circuit court has original jurisdiction in all felonies and misdemeanors cases from the identical conditions as an offense that is simultaneously indicted.

However, as a public body, the Office has been held subject to scrutiny and critique in the media. The Law Society of South Australia has recently called for the creation of an external body to review prosecutorial decisions (McGregor-and-Fewster-2015). It has been noted that prosecutors poor decision-making and erroneous attitude, regarding cases where there is no reasonable prospect of securing a conviction, results in unnecessary delays in the court system and the substantial, irrecoverable loss of public funds (Yang-2013).

The Criminal Justice system has evolved heavily through the time where Criminal Justice was first introduced to the United States. Jurisdiction is the official power to make legal decisions and judgments. It is the extent of the power, a system of law courts, a judicature. In March 1864, Smiley is indicted in the U.S. Circuit Court, charged with “plundering”. Jan 25th, 2011, Jacob Lee Loughner is charged with murder, in the U.S. District Court.

Most states have two levels of trial courts: trial courts with limited jurisdiction and trial courts with specific jurisdiction. Jurisdiction simply refers to the types of cases a court can hear. For example, trial courts of limited jurisdiction hear some kinds of civil cases, juvenile cases, minor criminal cases and traffic violations. Most legal problems are resolved in this kind of trial court.

The United State’s court system typically operates as two entities; the first is the individual states court structure, and the second is the federal court organization (Bohm, & Haley, 2014). Subsequently, both of these court organizational frames typically divide between courts of general jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, and courts of last appeal or supreme courts. While similar in their structuring both the state and federal courts typically deal with different types of cases.

Within jurisdiction there is also personal jurisdiction and hierarchical jurisdiction. Personal jurisdiction refers to the courts power over an individual person or corporation. An example would be if a person accused of fraudulent crimes or crime committed through the internet, meaning that they committed the crime but were not physically present when the crime was committed. Hierarchical jurisdiction refers to difference in the courts functions and all the responsibilities. This is divided into two types, original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction. Original means that a court has the authority to try a case and decide the results. Appellate jurisdiction means that courts had to power to review cases that have already been decided by other courts, but they believe there is a reason to re try it. Appellate courts often have limited

The purpose of civil law is to “deal with the disputes between individuals, organizations, or between the two, in which compensation is awarded to the victim,” (“Civil Law vs Criminal Law.”, 2012). Civil law applies when there is a dispute between private parties, and the government is not involved. The lack of government involvement also leads to easier negotiations. Civil cases can be much more flexible since there is typically no law being broken and thus, no legal actions have to be taken. The less rigid civil law cases also generally allow them to be settled quickly and without controversy. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than half of general civil trials conclude in state courts, meaning they are able to reach an agreement and do not have to continue spending unnecessary time and money on the case (“Civil Justice.”, 2017).

basic idea is that there are two sides, the plaintiff and the defendant. In a criminal case, the prosecutor acts as a plaintiff on behalf of the citizens or state. It is the judge’s duty to determine what the law is in relation to the particular case at hand. It is the jury’s duty to determine what the facts are in the case. The lawyers in the case are charged with representing their respective clients to the very best of their ability. The goal of this process is justice. In the United States, there are more than 51 different interpretations of this model. Each of the 50 states has its own rules and procedures. The federal courts also have their own rules. However, for the most part, they are all very similar.

Criminals are typically charged in the courts four different ways. “it all begins with the filing an accusation stating that a specific person or group of people, committed a crime against you. Those Defendants in violation of a crime can be charged in court by that accusation signed by the victim. A complaint is filed by the victim and reported to police. A bill of information put in by a prosecutor is also like a victim complaint. “It is required in felony prosecutions in most states that do not use the grand jury. In grand jury states, an information is used for initiation felony charges pending grand jury”. Another way to charge a person is through a warrant. A judge issues the warrant, most of the time is issued after the arrest has made.

Subject matter jurisdiction included courts of general justification and courts of limited jurisdiction. Limited jurisdiction is responsible for the early stage of felonies. General jurisdiction is without any restrictions.

In the following paper I will be looking at two cases which involve problems when it comes to the issue of Jurisdiction in the court system. The first one that will be looked at is Smiley vs. United States which involve international issues and the second one that will be looked at is the case of the mass shooting involving Jared Lee Loughner as the guilty party in the case. One of these cases was handled correctly and one of them was not based on my personal opinion. But of course in the end, all that matters is that the court made the right decision and yes in my personal opinion I think that both of these courts made the right choice based on the cases.

What is the difference between criminal and civil law? What is a tort? What are three forms of product-liability cases that can be formed due to a manufacturer’s negligence? And what is a warranty? These are all important questions that are answered by having a basic knowledge of the law and regulations. Let’s take a look at each term and how our legal court system has defined them.