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How Courts Work
Frederick Solomon,
Esq.
A cult has
victimized you or
someone near to you.
If you consult a
lawyer who is
qualified in such
matters, he can
advise you of how
the courts may
assist you. The
following brief
outline of how
courts work may in
turn help you to
understand what your
lawyer will tell
you.
In a typical case,
the "plaintiff" (the
party with the
complaint), files a
paper (usually
called a
"complaint") with
the court, telling
how the plaintiff
believes the
defendant has
wronged the
plaintiff. If the
defendant disagrees,
the defendant files
a paper denying the
existence of the
wrong, the extent of
the injury (the
"damages"), or both.
American courts,
like the British
courts on which they
are modeled, follow
the "advocacy"
principle. This is
the idea that the
best way to find the
truth is for each
side, acting through
its lawyers, to
present its case as
effectively as
possible. A case may
involve questions of
"law," of "fact," or
both. Questions of
law concern general
principles that
govern the case in
question and all
similar cases, for
example: "What is
the responsibility
of a person who
deliberately
deceives and
misleads another to
the latter's
detriment?"
Questions of fact,
on the other hand,
turn upon what
happened in the
particular case, for
example: "What did
the defendant do?"
After the judge
decides any legal
questions that may
be involved, if
there is any dispute
about the facts,
there is a "trial"
in which each side
tries to persuade
the "jury" (a group
of fellow citizens)
that the facts of
the case favor that
side. In order to do
this, each lawyer
tells the jury what
the lawyer expects
to show, offers
"evidence"
(documents,
testimony of
witnesses, etc.),
and finally argues
to the jury that the
evidence supports
the client's
position.
The judge then
"charges" the jury
-- tells them how to
apply the law to the
facts that they
decide are true. The
jury leaves the
room, discusses the
case, and decides
whether the
defendant has
wronged the
plaintiff and if so,
how much the
defendant should pay
the plaintiff in
compensation. (The
judge can decide the
case without a jury,
deciding the "facts"
as well as the
"law," if both the
plaintiff and
defendant agree to
this in advance.)
Note that the
plaintiff does not
necessarily recover
his legal costs even
if he wins the case.
In practice, to
avoid either side
surprising the
other, an extremely
important process
called "discovery"
comes before the
trial. In discovery,
each side can obtain
information from the
other that bears on
the case. One method
of discovery is to
"depose" a possible
witness, that is,
have the witness
testify under oath,
which is called
taking the witness's
"deposition." Other
methods include
requiring the other
side to disclose
documents in its
possession or to
answer written
questions about the
case. A plaintiff
should expect to
have to give a
deposition, and
often many other
witnesses will be
deposed. Expenses of
discovery can be
massive.
After the jury or
judge has decided
the case in the
trial court (called
by different names
in different states,
for example,
Superior Court,
Circuit Court,
etc.), either side
can appeal to a
higher court, the
"appellate court,"
which also has
different names in
different states.
Ordinarily, the
higher court will
not disturb the
trial court's
finding of facts and
will let the trial
court's decision
stand unless the
court made some
mistake about the
law that applies to
the case. In some
cases, there can be
an appeal to a still
higher court, again
to review the law
but not the facts.
Even if a plaintiff
wins a money
judgment for
damages, and it is
upheld on appeal,
the plaintiff does
not automatically
get the money. If
the defendant
refuses to pay, the
court can order
assets of the
defendant to be
seized and sold to
pay the judgment.
However, the
plaintiff has the
problem of locating
and identifying
assets of the
defendant to be
seized. This can
entail post-trial
discovery and
considerable
difficulty,
especially if the
defendant is
inclined toward
secrecy and hiding
assets.
Apart from "civil"
cases, as outlined
above, courts also
try "criminal" cases
The same facts may
give rise to a civil
case, a criminal
case, or both. In a
criminal case, the
defendant, sometimes
called the
"accused," is
accused of breaking
some law, that is,
of committing a
crime, either a
minor crime called a
"misdemeanor," or a
major crime, called
a "felony." The
government, in
effect, is the
plaintiff and is
represented by a
lawyer who is
usually called a
Prosecutor,
Prosecuting
Attorney, or the
like. The lawyer you
consult can refer
the case to the
Prosecutor, but
cannot carry on the
criminal case.
A criminal trial and
appeal proceed
roughly as described
above for civil
trial, but if the
defendant loses, the
penalty can be a
fine, imprisonment,
or both, instead of
the money damages
awarded in a civil
case.
Besides the usual
civil and criminal
cases noted above,
trial courts (or
related agencies),
can take other
steps. For example,
they can issue an
"injunction"
ordering a person to
cease specified
actions (for
example, to stop
threatening a
person). They can
also decide divorce
cases and child
custody issues,
which are sometimes
highly
controversial.
If you understand
the foregoing, you
have a general idea
of how the courts of
a state operate. But
that is not the
whole story. In
addition to the
state courts there
is a system of
Federal courts, the
United States
courts. These courts
operate much like
the state courts,
but they are
confined to deciding
questions of Federal
law and certain
other types of
cases.
Even from this brief
outline, you can see
that while courts
have been
established to
resolve disputes,
the process is far
from simple; it can
take a long time and
be rather expensive.
This is one reason
why, especially
after both sides
have engaged in
"discovery" and
learned about the
other side's case,
disputes are often
settled without
going further with
the long and
frequently expensive
process of trial,
possible appeal, and
collection of
judgment above. Your
lawyer can explain
all this and more to
you, but it will be
easier for him and
for you if you have
at least a general
idea of the way
courts operate.
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