pols

State Courts

10-31-24

The most liked branch of government is the Judiciary branch

  • Judges preside over technicalities of the law 

  • Unlike other branches, have an exact specialization

  • Most judges are attorneys, and lawyers went to law school 

  • The public knows significantly less about the judiciary

A Litigious American Society

  • Litigious; lawful

The United States and its states are the most litigious society

  • The US has a quarter of the world's lawyers- about 1.1 million 

Texas ranks first in number of cases - 11.7 million cases in 2018 

  • About 108,000 attorneys in Texas 

  • Not exactly a miniature version of the nation 

Texas case breakdown 

Texas heard 11.7 million cases in 2018 

  • Federal courts received 1.2 million filings in the same year 

Case Breakdown 

  • 55% traffic violations ( Accidents, DUI)

  • 21% criminal cases ( Murder, Felony, Rape)

  • 17% civil cases ( no jail time, disputes, lawsuits)

  • 6% domestic (divorce, child custody)

  • 2% juvenile cases ( minors, felony)

10th amendment- powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people



The Legal Process

Legal process in state and federal courts is tied to jurisdiction

Two forms of jurisdiction

  1. Original jurisdiction

  • The first time this case is heard 

  • Starts at the lowest court 

  • Trial level

  1. Appellate jurisdiction

  • Power to review 

  • Looking to legal error

Interpreting the law 

The primary role of the courts is to interpret the laws

  • Leads to the creation of the common law 

Actions with legal interpretation

  • Clarifying laws 

  • Checking the other branches 

11-5-2024

Texas State High Courts 

One of the two states with separate high courts 

  • Motivated by a wish for efficiency, expertise, and distrust of centralization 

Texas Supreme Court

  •  civil cases 

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

  • criminal 

US Supreme Court ( most potent, last pathway)

  •  federal cases only 

Judicial Review 

A two-step process that applies common law 

Common Law- judges look to past court decisions to establish legal principles for new cases ( stacking other laws onto each other) 

Step 1 - Allows a court to consider legislative or executive actions that may be inconsistent with the state or federal constitution. 

Step 2- Allows a court to overturn legislative or executive actions if inconsistent with state and federal constitutions.

If the law or executive action is overturned, it is ruled unconstitutional.

11-7-2024

Juries 

“Jury of one's peers” is the right of community to have input in the legal system.

Two types of juries 

  1. Grand jury- pre-trail action

  2. Petit jury- trial action

Demographic Change of Courts 

Like most states, Texas has diversified, and courts resemble that change 

Scholars reason that increased diversity on the bench helps 

  1. Reduce resentment toward the judiciary 

  2. It may increase understanding of cultural issues 

State courts face tremendous pressure. 

State judges face a very different environment. 

  • Texas judges exist in a state with a large, diverse, and litigious population.

Method of selection leads to accountability. 

Local Governments

11-12-2024

The least important level of government 

  • No, Local governments affect most Americans 

Impact

  • How criminals are punished 

  • Number of homeless

  • Open drug use is accepted 

  • Quality of drinking water 

Provides services to the community 

Powers and Constraints of Local Government 

Dillon’s Rule 

  • Iowa Justice Dillon reasoned local governments are limited to powers expressly granted by the state 

  • The 10th Amendment of the US Constitution secured power for the states but not for local governments

    • State power always trumps local power

Three forms of Local government 

Counties ( Tarrant, Dallas County)

  • 254 counties 

  • Counties are administrative divisions of the state 

  • Government services like road maintenance, elections, and jails 

  • Administrative services like vehicle registration and death certificates

County officials 

  • Primary county officials in Texas are county judges and county commissioners. 

  • County sheriff

  • County prosecutor/district attorney 

Cities, Municipalities (Dallas, Fort Worth)

  • Municipalities are political units that include cities or towns 

  • Incorporated under state law to provide services to local area 

  • Two forms: general law and home rule

  • General law cities are allowed to under laws the state provides

Home rule cities 

  • A way for cities to avoid the constraints of Dillon's rule 

  • Home rule cities allowed to do anything unless prohibited by state 

  • Granted in city charter for cities over 5,000 people 

  • Home rule and Dillon's rule are opposites 

Strongest power of home rule cities 

Annexation- taxes and money 

  • Represents joining land into the boundary of an existing city 

  • Has allowed Houston to become a giant city- 665 square miles 

  • Only unincorporated land to be targeted 

Special purpose district ( school district)

Finance and Budget Policy 

11-19-2024

Covid-19 Recession 

  • Recession caused by the pandemic shutdown in March 2020

  • Short-term and Long-term effects on cities and states 

  • A significant change in population

Unemployment in June 2020 

  • National unemployment at 11.1%

    • Was 3.5% in February 2020

  • Massachusetts has 17.4%

  • Kentucky was 4.3%

  • Texas was 8.6% 

  • Choices resulting from state budget shortfalls 

Texas Legislative Session,2021 

  • The economy settled in Texas by January 

  • The legislature sought tax cuts 

  • COVID-19 relief money allocated to state agencies 

  • Money was earmarked for unemployment compensation funds and hospitals

  • Raising taxes is not an option for the majority party 

State Sources of Revenue 

  1. Income Taxes (not taxes) 

  2. Sales Taxes 

  3. Property taxes 

  4. Fees 

State Income taxes 

  • Texans do not like taxes 

  • The result is Texas has not adopted an income tax 

    • A more progressive form of taxation 

    • Separates poor and wealthy taxpayers 

  • Tax brackets are used to differentiate citizens 

    • Hawaii versus Massachusets 

Sales Taxes 

  • Texas’ largest source of income 

    • Texas receives 6.25% of goods purchased 

    • Local government can collect an additional 2% 

  • Regressive form of taxation 

  • Positives include a lack of effect on spending and equal treatment

  • Negatives include a higher share of income for the poor 

Complaints over the Sales tax 

  • The economy has changed with a larger service sector 

    • That sector is less taxed 

  • In 1945 - Service sector was 58%

  • In 2021- Service sector was 77.6%

11-21-2024

Property Taxes 

  • A preferred method of taxation for local governments

  • Assessed based on the value of one’s house 

  • Largely responsible for funding primary and secondary education

  • 40% of the money for the school districts comes from property taxes 

Texas 2023 Property Tax Law

  • An $18 billion compromise 

  • Allocated $12 billion to reduce school property tax rates 

  • Created $100,000 homestead exemption

  • Created a 20% cap on increase for non-homestead properties 

Other sources of Revenue 

  • States use business or selective taxes and fees 

  • Hundreds of fees from Texas parks to licensing 

The Budget Process

  • Texas lawmakers pass a budget every two years 

  • The constitution and laws of Texas limit the legislature’s actions 

    • Must balance the budget 

    • Spending is capping 

    • Dedicated funds are less flexible 

Post Budget 

  • Once the budget is passed, the Legislature and governor continue to jostle for control over spending 

  • Governors use executive orders or declarations 

    • Recent emergency declaration over the border crisis

  • For the legislature, again, the most difficult job each session 

    • Where the money is spent is always controversial