CRMJ 254 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: General Jurisdiction, Perjury, Cross-Examination
4 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Chapter 9: role of the courts - provide honest and just forums. Prove open/honest forum for regulating human behavior. Provide an open/honest forum to settle human disputes. Interpret the constitution: courts as a complex social agency. Governed by fair rules to ensure fairness and uniformity: prevents double-jeopardy. Compromised by restraints: budget issues, overburdened cases. Becomes a scene of accommodation with pleas and discretionary powers: causing dissimilar treatment, state courts. Processes approximately 92 million cases annually: 56 million traf c, 20 million civil and domestic, 14 million criminal, 2 million juvenile. Monday, april 4, 2016: lower trial courts - limited jurisdiction. Deal with civil matters and minor offenses. Outnumber general jurisdiction courts 5 to 1: felony courts - general jurisdiction [pages 336-337] Handles more serious civil matters: appellate courts - appeal courts. Appellate court options: order a new trial, allow defendant to go free, uphold original verdict.
