Court Procedures Study Notes
Chapter 5: Court Procedures
Filing a Case
Filing a Case: The Initial Pleadings
The Complaint:
- Filed by the Plaintiff.
- Must contain statements or allegations that establish:
- The court’s jurisdiction.
- The plaintiff’s legal theory: the law and facts underlying the plaintiff’s claim.
- The remedy the plaintiff is seeking.
Service of Process:
- The Defendant must be served a copy of the complaint and a summons.
- Summons is a notice requiring the Defendant to appear in court and respond to the complaint.
- The person serving the complaint and summons must be:
- 18 years or older.
- Not a party to the case.
- If personal service is not possible, judges may allow alternative methods of service.
- The method of service must be reasonably calculated to give notice and an opportunity to respond.
- The Defendant can agree to waive service.
- For corporate defendants, service must be made on:
- An officer of the corporation.
- The corporation’s registered agent.
- This requirement is the same for all types of business entities.
The Answer:
- The Defendant’s response to the Plaintiff’s complaint.
- The Defendant must specifically admit or deny each allegation and assert any affirmative defenses or counterclaims.
- Any allegations that are not denied will be deemed admitted.
Pretrial Procedures
Discovery:
Parties are allowed discovery concerning any matter that is relevant to the claim or defense of any party.
Confidential or privileged information is protected from discovery.
Discovery Tools:
- Depositions:
- Sworn testimony by a party or any witness.
- Recorded by a court official.
- Interrogatories:
- Written questions answered under oath.
- Only for parties involved in the case.
- Requests for Admission:
- Written request asking a party to admit the truth of a matter.
- Requests for Documents, Objects, and Entry Upon Land:
- Requests for production of relevant evidence.
- Requests for Examinations:
- A court order can be requested for a physical or mental examination when that party’s condition is in question.
- Depositions:
Pretrial Conference:
- Parties meet with the judge to plot the course of the trial including witnesses and schedules.
Jury Selection:
- A jury must be formally requested if one is desired.
- The process is called voir dire.
- Each party's attorney asks potential jurors questions to assess suitability and can ask for jurors to be dismissed:
- For Cause: Specific reasons for dismissal.
- Peremptory Challenges: Dismissal without giving a reason, subject to limitations as they cannot discriminate based on race or gender.
The Trial
Stages in the Trial:
- Opening Statements:
- Each attorney presents the facts they expect to prove and their hoped-for outcomes.
- Plaintiff’s Case:
- The plaintiff presents evidence and witnesses.
- Defendant’s Case:
- The defendant presents evidence and witnesses.
- Closing Arguments:
- Attorneys summarize the case facts and evidence in support of their claims.
- Jury Instructions:
- Jurors receive instructions about the standard of proof and applicable laws.
- Burden of Proof:
- Determination of who must prove their claims:
- Plaintiff for claims.
- Defendant for defenses and counterclaims.
- Determination of who must prove their claims:
- Standard of Proof:
- Types include:
- Preponderance of evidence.
- Clear and convincing evidence.
- Beyond a reasonable doubt (only in criminal cases).
- Types include:
- Verdict:
- The jury renders a decision including their findings of fact and, if applicable, the amount of damages.
- Opening Statements:
Rules of Evidence:
- Evidence must be relevant: it must tend to prove or disprove a fact in question.
- Hearsay is inadmissible: a statement made outside of court by someone not under oath cannot be used.
Examination of Witnesses:
- Direct Examination: Questioning by the attorney for the calling party.
- Cross Examination: Questioning by the opposing party’s attorney.
- Redirect Examination: Re-questioning by the attorney for the calling party.
- Recross Examination: Re-questioning by the opposing party’s attorney.
- Witnesses can be categorized as:
- Layperson Witnesses: Individuals with no specialized expertise.
- Expert Witnesses: Individuals with extensive knowledge in a specific area, beyond that of an average person based on education, training, or skill.
Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law/Motion for Directed Verdict:
- Can be made at the end of the plaintiff’s case, asserting that the plaintiff has not provided sufficient evidence for a jury to find in their favor.
- Can also be made after the defendant’s case.
- The key test is: can the jury find for the nonmoving party through any reasonable interpretation of the evidence?
The Appeal
Filing Notice of Appeal:
- Begins with the appellant (the party appealing) filing a notice of appeal with the trial court within the statutory timeline.
- The lower court sends a record on appeal to the appellate court containing all relevant documents, pleadings, motions, evidence, and a complete written transcript of the trial.
Types of Appeals:
- Appeals of Right: Higher court must hear the case.
- Discretionary Appeals: Higher court can choose whether to hear the case.
- This depends on the type of case and whether it is the first or second level of appeal.
Filing of Briefs:
- The appellant outlines facts, issues of the case, targeted judge’s rulings or jury findings for reversal or modification, and applicable law in their brief.
- The appellee will also file a brief responding to the appellant's arguments.
Court Decision Process:
- The higher court may issue a written opinion, which could be based solely on the briefs or after holding oral arguments for both parties’ attorneys to present their cases and ask questions.
Standard of Review:
- The higher court reviews the case for errors of law.
- Differentiates between factual findings and legal rulings:
- Deference is given to lower court's factual findings and these will only be overturned if clearly erroneous or contradicted by evidence.
- No deference given for legal issues; fresh review is conducted.
- The higher court outcomes include:
- Affirming the lower court’s decision.
- Remanding the case with instructions for modifications.
- Reversal of lower court’s decision (or combinations thereof).
Appeals to SCOTUS
- Process for Appealing to SCOTUS:
- A party requests the issuance of a writ of certiorari to have the lower court send the record for review.
- Approval of at least four of the nine justices is required, known as the rule of four.
- Merely declining to review the case does not reflect agreement with the lower court’s decision nor does it indicate the case's merit; it means the lower court’s decision remains final and law in that jurisdiction.
Enforcing the Judgment
- Writ of Execution:
- The court can issue a writ requiring the sale of the Defendant’s non-exempt assets to satisfy the judgment.
- Statutory laws dictate what assets are exempt.
- The Defendant may also transfer non-exempt assets directly to the Plaintiff instead of undergoing a forced sale.
- Assessing whether to pursue action involves considering whether the Defendant possesses adequate assets to satisfy a potential judgment.
Sample Questions
Sample Question 1:
- Scenario: Britney wants to obtain evidence from a witness regarding a car accident she was involved in.
- Choices:
- Deposition
- Interrogatories
- Request for Admission
- Request for Examination
Sample Question 2:
- Scenario: Ben sues his business partner, Jerry, about profit-sharing. Ben serves a summons and complaint to Jerry, who discards them.
- Question: Has Jerry received proper service of process?
- Choices:
- Yes, because he received personal service.
- No, because Jerry was not the registered agent of the business.
- Yes, because Jerry accepted the documents.
- No, because Ben served Jerry the documents.
Sample Question 3:
- Statement: Layperson witnesses can testify about their opinion on the outcome of the case.
- Options:
- True
- False