Copyright @ 2012, 2011, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright @ 2012, 2011, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc

WHAT WE WILL LEARN

1) The types of legal disputes addressed by Texas courts2) The procedures followed by trial and appellate courts in Texas3) The various courts in Texas, and the types of cases each court hears4) The terms of office, method of selection, and qualifications for judges in Texas5) How judges are chosen in Texas, and why is judicial selection in the state controversial

Copyright @2012, 2011, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc

Edwards Aquifer Authority vs. Day

Rule of Capture – Legal principle that each landowner has the right to withdraw an unlimited amount of groundwater from his or her own land by tapping into an underlying aquifer


Case Study

The most important underground natural resource in drought-parched Texas may not be oil or gas but water, and the Texas Supreme Court is poised to decide who controls it.

If landowners can pump an unlimited amount of underground water from their property, they can deplete the resource, leaving their neighbors’ wells dry.• The rule of capture would become the “law of the biggest straw.”

Criminal Cases – Alleged violation of a penal law

Parties in a Criminal Case• Defendant – Party charged with the criminal offense• Prosecutor – Attorney who tries a criminal case on behalf of the

government


Types of Legal Disputes

Burden of Proof – The prosecutor has the burden of proof to show the defendant’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Classification of Criminal Offenses – The penal code classifies criminal cases according to their severity.

Misdemeanor – A relatively minor criminal offense• Categories – Class A, B, or C

Felony – A serious criminal offenseCategories – Capital (life or death penalty); 1st degree; 2nd degree; 3rd degree; State jail felony (4th degree)

Civil Case: A legal dispute concerning a private conflict between two or more parties – individuals, corporations, or government agencies


Types of Legal Disputes

Parties in a Civil Case• Plaintiff – Party initiating the lawsuit.• Defendant – Responding party.

Burden of Proof• The plaintiff has the burden to prove their case “by a preponderance of the

evidence.”

Tort Case – Personal injury or damage to propertyContract Case – Disputes over written or implied legal agreementsDomestic-Relations Case – Relationships between husband and wife, and between parents and childrenProbate Case – Disposition of the property of a deceased individualProperty Case – Ownership of real estate or personal possessions such as jewelry or an automobile

Adversary Proceeding – Each side presents evidence and arguments to bolster its position, while rebutting evidence submitted by the other side.

Civil Cases – Litigants may resolve the dispute by settling out of court rather than going through the trial process.Criminal Cases – The defendant and the prosecutor may resolve the case through a plea bargain –• Defendant agrees to plead guilty in order to receive

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Court Procedures

Most legal disputes are settled through a process of negotiation and compromise between the parties, not by trials.

Trials and Appeals

Trials• Procedures – Formal examination of a civil or criminal action in

accordance with the law before a single judge who has jurisdiction to hear the dispute

• Involves – Attorneys, witnesses, testimony, evidence, judges, and juries

• Process – In general, the trial court is concerned with questions of facts and the law as it applies to those facts.

• Verdict – Determines in a civil case which party prevails in the lawsuit, and in a criminal case whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty as charged and their punishment.


Court Procedures

Trials and Appeals

Appeals• Taking a case from a lower court to a higher court by the losing

party in a lower-court decision• The losing party in a civil case may allege that the lower court failed

to follow proper procedures or incorrectly applied the law.• A criminal defendant may contend the trial court committed

reversible error – a mistake that is serious enough to warrant a new trial because the mistake could have affected the outcome of the original trial.

• Attorneys, written and oral arguments, and written court records• The appellate court is concerned with issues of law and procedure.• The court may uphold, reverse, or modify the lower-court decision.


Court Procedures

Three levels


The Texas Court System

Local courts• Municipal courts, justice of the peace (JP) courts, and county

courts hear relatively minor civil cases and misdemeanor criminal disputes.

District courts• The general trial courts of the state; hear major civil disputes and

try felony criminal casesAppellate courts• The Texas Courts of Appeals, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,

and Texas Supreme Court constitute the state’s appellate court system.

Municipal Courts


Local Courts

The Texas legislature has created municipal courts in every incorporated city in the state.• Operate in 920 cities staffed by 1,531 judges

• Criminal jurisdiction – Class C misdemeanor offenses• Exclusive jurisdiction involving violations of city

ordinances – laws enacted by the governing body of a municipality

• Traffic cases account for more than 80 percent of the workload.

• Perform magistrate duties

Justice of the Peace Courts (JP)


Local Courts

The Texas Constitution requires each county to operate at least one JP court – larger counties to have as many as 16. • 2011: 819 JP courts operated statewide• Criminal jurisdiction – Class C misdemeanor offenses• Civil jurisdiction – civil cases involving amounts of

money of no more than $10,000• Small claims cases and evictions• Perform magistrate duties

County Courts – Constitutional County Courts


Local Courts

Created by Texas Constitution in each of the state’s 254 counties • Criminal jurisdiction – Class A and B misdemeanor

offenses

• Civil jurisdiction – civil cases involving amounts of money between $200 and $5,000

• Handle appeals de novo (new trials) from justice of peace courts or municipal courts

County Courts – Statutory County Courts


Local Courts

The Texas legislature has created 233 additional statutory county courts and 18 statutory probate courts.• Criminal jurisdiction – Class A and B misdemeanor

offenses

• Civil jurisdiction – civil cases involving amounts of money up to $100,000

• Class C misdemeanor appeals from JP or municipal courts and civil case appeals from JP courts

Texas has 456 district courts


District Courts

• Each court serves a specific geographic area, which may encompass several counties in the rural areas.

• Basic trial courts of the state• Criminal jurisdiction – felony offenses• Civil jurisdiction – civil cases involving amounts

of money of $200 or more

Appeals filed by litigants who lose in lower courts


Appellate Courts

• Review the trial court record, hear oral arguments, study legal briefs from attorneys, and render a decision/opinion

• Affirm the lower-court decision• Reverse it• Modify it• Affirm part of the lower-court ruling while

reversing or modifying the rest

Three types of opinions

Dissenting Opinion – A written judicial statement that disagrees with the decision of the court’s majority


Appellate Court Opinions

Majority Opinion – The official written statement of the court that explains and justifies its ruling and serves as a guideline for lower courts

Concurring Opinion – A written judicial statement that agrees with the court’s ruling but disagrees with the reasoning of the majority

Three types of appellate courts


Types of Appellate Courts

Courts of AppealsTexas Supreme CourtTexas Court of Criminal AppealsTexas is one of two states (Oklahoma is the other) with two supreme courts.• The Texas Supreme Court – civil disputes• The Court of Criminal Appeals – criminal matters

Courts of Appeals



14 courts of appeals, each serving a specific geographic area• Decide both civil and criminal appeals from the district

and county courts, except death penalty appeals, which go directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

• 80 justices staff the 14 courts of appeal• Number of justices in each court varies from 3 to 13,

depending on the workload

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals



• Highest (supreme) appellate court for all criminal cases in the state

• Death penalty cases appealed directly from the district court

• Consists of one presiding justice and eight additional judges

• Decisions from this court may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court when they involve matters of federal law or the U.S. Constitution.

Texas Supreme Court

• Highest (supreme) appellate court for all civil cases

• Consists of one chief justice and eight associate justices

• Decisions from this court may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court when they involve matters of federal law or the U.S. Constitution.

• Administers the judicial branch of state government

More than 3,200 judges staff Texas courts.

• Municipal judge• Justice of peace judge• Constitutional county judge• Statutory county judge• District judge• Appellate judge


Judges

The Texas judicial system is staffed by a wide array of judges. • May possess different qualifications and serve for different

terms

Except for some municipal judges who are appointed, Texas judges are chosen by partisan election –• Both the names of the candidates and their party

affiliations appear on the ballot.

Texas and seven other states elect judges via partisan elections.• A substantial number of the state’s district and

appellate judges first reach the bench through gubernatorial appointment.


Judicial Selection

Is Justice for Sale in Texas?

Critics believe that money plays too prominent a role in the process.


Judicial SelectionPartisan Elections• Successful candidates for the Texas Supreme Court must raise and

spend at least $800,000.

• Candidates for district judgeships may raise and spend more than $30,000 on their campaigns.

Do Voters Know the Candidates?

Critics also charge that many voters are unable to intelligently evaluate the qualifications of judicial candidates.

Elections suggest that voters are often uninformed about the judicial candidates.

Representative of the State’s Population?

Diversity – Critics of judicial selection also note that it has produced a judiciary that does not reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the state’s population.


Judicial Selection

Partisan Politics vs. Judicial Impartiality

Partisan Politics – Is partisan politics incompatible with judicial impartiality?


Judicial Selection

Can a Republican defendant receive a fair trial from a Democratic judge or vice versa?• As long as Texas elects judges on a partisan ballot, at

least some individuals will believe that party politics will determine the outcomes, rather than the law and the constitution.

Reforming the Judicial Selection Process

Merit selection (or the Missouri Plan): combines gubernatorial appointment with voter approval in a retention election


Judicial Selection

Former Chief Justice John Hill’s Plan• Selection of a 15-member nominating commission to recommend to

the governor a list of three to five qualified persons from which the governor would fill a vacancy on the bench

• Approval of the governor’s choice by a two-thirds confirmation vote in the state Senate

• Newly appointed judges must face a retention election in the next general election and receive a majority of the vote to continue for a full multiyear term before facing another retention election.

Other Proposed Reforms

Ballot Modification: Requiring nonpartisan elections and prohibiting straight-ticket voting for judicial elections


Judicial Selection

Nonpartisan Election – Candidates run without party labels

Eliminating Straight-Ticket Voting – casting ballots only for the candidates of one party

Judicial Departure – due to death, retirement, loss of reelection, or removal by competent authority


Judicial Retirement and Removal

Removal • Incompetence or unethical conduct• Disciplinary actions – an admonition, warning, reprimand, or

recommendation to remove from office• Impeachment by majority vote in the state House and removal by a

two-thirds vote of the Senate

Visiting Judges

Judges who have retired or been defeated for reelection to continue working as visiting judges

Copyright @ 2012, 2011, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

Documents

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