Chapter 6

Introduction

• Wallace Jefferson

• Elimination of partisan judicial races

• Nathan Hecht

• State politicians resist change

Judicial Fedderalism and Texas Courts

• creates elected judiciary

• Judicial federalism

  • the idea that judicial authority is shared between different levels of government

• Early Texan frontier justice

  • the desire of the people to handle their own business or feeling the government is in the way of people doing that and the 1876 constitution to create an elected judiciary

  • There might not be a sheriff, jail, or system of law and order to solve problems so the community handles them.

• State constitution court establishment

• Divided by jurisdiction, origin, geography

  • state and county level courts (even city level courts)

• Jurisdiction

  • fear of authority

• Original

  • can hear a case for the first time

• Appellate

  • only hear cases after they have already been heard in a lower court (review the decision)

• Exclusive

  • only can see that specific kind of case

  • think probate court

• Criminal case

• Civil case

  • 2 parties non of which are the government

• Geographical coverage

• Based on city, precinct, county

• State level court

• Exclusive jurisdiction

• Origin

• Specified in constitution

• Created by state legislature

• Concurrent jurisdiction

• No records in lower level courts

Local Trial Courts

• Evidence, testimony, verdict

• Original case record

• Local versus county level

• Municipal Courts

  • Created by state legislature

  • Jurisdiction over municipal ordinances

  • Magistrate functions

  • De Novo

  • 2 year term for judges

• Justice of the Peace Courts

  • Precinct-level

  • Not courts of record

    • Doesn’t keep record of the case

  • original jurisdiction only

    • only hears new cases

    • No appeal cases are heard

  • Perform marriage, notaries, etc

    • can’t divorce you

    • notary is someone who makes your agreement or paperwork recognized by law

  • Coroner in counties without medical examiner

• County-level Trial Courts

  • Mandated in constitution

  • Original and appellate jurisdiction

  • Appeals from lower courts

  • Courts of record

(skipping through local trial courts)

State-level Courts: District and Appellate Courts

• One-plus district court

• Jurisdiction varies

• Charged individuals can choose

• Courts of Appeals (Intermediate Appellate Courts)

  • Initial and further appeals

  • Appellate judge qualifications

  • Affirm, reverse, or remand

    • remand is to send it back to the lower court so they can make another decision

  • Majority opinion

  • Concurring, dissenting, or per curiam opinion

  • En banc

• Texas’s Highest Appellate Courts

  • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

    • 9 judges

    • see if the law was correctly applied in death penalty cases

  • Supreme Court of Texas

    • 9 judges

    • 8 justices and 1 chief justice

    • They can hear cases on:

      • They choose what cases they wanna review

      • What they say is final

      • if they review a choice by a lower court their choice is final