Court Systems and Practices

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 Necessity to prove the facts that are in dispute during a trial 3 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Two Aspects:  Determine which party must prove the allegations made  Determine how much proof is needed 4 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Civil Cases: Complainant (Plaintiff) has the burden of proof  Must prove to the judge or jury by a preponderance of the evidence 5 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Civil Cases: Preponderance of the evidence means  The plaintiff’s evidence is slightly more convincing than the defendant’s evidence  More likely than not  0% 50%| | 100% 6 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Criminal Cases: The complainant (prosecutor) has the burden of proof  Must prove to the judge or jury beyond a reasonable doubt 7 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Criminal Cases: Beyond a reasonable doubt means  The prosecutor must convince the judge or jury that the defendant committed the crime  95%+ sure of the defendant’s guilt  0% 50%| | 100% Preponderance Beyond Reasonable Doubt 8 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Criminal Cases: The defendant has the burden of proof when claiming criminal defense ◦ Insanity ◦ Self-Defense ◦ Duress ◦ Entrapment ◦ Necessity ◦ Accident 9 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Circumstantial Evidence:  The most common form of evidence  Indirect evidence  The jury and judge must draw conclusions based on inferences 10 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Direct Evidence:  Directly proves a fact! 11 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Types of Evidence:  Real  Demonstrative  Documentary  Testimony 12 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

 Evidence must be relevant to the case at hand.  Evidence must fall within the Rules of Evidence: ◦ Assists in ascertaining the truth ◦ Encourages fairness ◦ Avoids judicial delay 13 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

 Can include ◦ Stipulations ◦ Judicial Notice 14 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

 Suppressed Evidence: ◦ Evidence kept out of trial due to a legality  Ex: evidence obtained through an illegal search and seizure 15 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

 Offered into evidence: ◦ Evidence presented by a party in a court case ◦ To be admitted, it must fall under the proper rule of evidence 16 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

 Admitted into evidence: ◦ “Comes in” ◦ Made a part of the case record ◦ Can be considered by the judge or jury in rendering a decision ◦ If challenged by an opposing party, it could be “kept out”  Challenged through objections, such as  Relevance  Hearsay  Lack of personal knowledge  No proper predicate 17 Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

 , Criminal Courts: Structure, Process, & Issues (2nd Edition), Dean John Champion, Richard D. Hartley, & Gary A. Rabe, Prentice Hall, 2007  Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice (8 th Edition), Rolando V. del Carmen, Wadsworth Publishing, Copyright © Texas Education Agency All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.