LAWS 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Voir Dire, Personal Jurisdiction, Peremptory Challenge
Document Summary
Court- public forum where private people go to settle disputes; must be neutral otherwise will not be fair. Trial ct- first ct where evidence initially presented. Presented w facts and lawyers/judges tell jury what law is being applied (inclu elements of the law) To appeal, must find legal reason to show an error (substance/procedural) that led to an unjust sys. Newly discovered evidence not available at time of trial i. e. witness, dna evidence. Court can affirm/overturn(reverse) decision or remand (send back to trial court) or modify (change sentencing time, reasoning) Only defendant can appeal because of double jeopardy. Only in this instance can a plaintiff appeal because a decision was not made (criminal cases) Civil cases--prosecution and defense can appeal if legal grounds can be found. Same decision to be applied to same facts in future. Rely on past rulings to decide current cases (binding) Lower courts do not bind higher courts but higher courts bind lower courts.
