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In Open Court
In open court is a legal term in the United States defined by the appearance by a party or their attorney in a public court session such as during a public trial. Normally, the public may be present at trials, hearings and similar routine matters. United States constitutional law Under Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution: In the United States, the constitution guarantees criminal defendants the right to a "''speedy and public trial''" under the Sixth and the Fourteenth Amendments. The Sixth Amendment also grants the defendant the right to appear on his or her own behalf requiring leave of the Court in complex criminal cases, and standby counsel may still be required by the judge. Distinguishing rules Many courts dealing with minors, such as the New York Surrogate's Court, Probate Court, Family court, juvenile court, or widow's and orphan's court do ''not'' normally hold sessions in open court. Appearance in open court is distinguished from an appeara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sixth Amendment To The United States Constitution
The Sixth Amendment (Amendment VI) to the United States Constitution sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions. It was ratified in 1791 as part of the United States Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court has applied the protections of this amendment to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Sixth Amendment grants criminal defendants the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury consisting of jurors from the state and district in which the crime was alleged to have been committed. Under the impartial jury requirement, jurors must be unbiased, and the jury must consist of a representative cross-section of the community. The right to a jury applies only to offenses in which the penalty is imprisonment for longer than six months. In ''Barker v. Wingo'', the Supreme Court articulated a balancing test to determine whether a defendant's right to a speedy trial had been violated. It has additionally held that the requirement of a pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judiciaries
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law in legal cases. Definition The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary can also be thought of as the mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make statutory law (which is the responsibility of the legislature) or enforce law (which is the responsibility of the executive), but rather interprets, defends, and applies the law to the facts of each case. However, in some countries the judiciary does make common law. In many jurisdictions the judicial branch has the power to change laws through the process of judicial review. Courts with judicial review power may annul the laws and r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Settlement Conference
A settlement or pre-trial conference is a meeting between opposing sides of a lawsuit at which the parties attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of their dispute without having to proceed to a trial. Such a conference may be initiated through either party, usually by the conveyance of a settlement offer; or it may be ordered by the court as a precedent (preliminary step) to holding a trial. Each party, the plaintiff and the defendant, is usually represented at the ''settlement conference'' by their own counsel or attorney. Conferences are frequently conducted by a judge or other neutral party, in the form of a mediation. Case conference In many courts in the common law system, a case conference may be used to settle a case. In some courts, the rules require that before certain types of motions or petitions will be heard by the judge, the lawyers must "meet and confer" to try to resolve the matter. Foreclosure Pre-foreclosure Settlement Conferences On December 1, 2008, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Open Court Principle
The open court principle requires that court proceedings presumptively be open and accessible to the public and to the media. In contrast, ''in camera'' describes court proceedings where the public and press are not allowed to observe the procedure or process. Canada Purpose The virtues of openness were discussed by the Supreme Court of Canada in ''A.G. Nova Scotia v. MacIntyre'' which quoted eighteenth-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham: :In the darkness of secrecy, sinister interest and evil in every shape have full swing. Only in proportion as publicity has place can any of the checks applicable to judicial injustice operate. Where there is no publicity there is no justice. Publicity is the very soul of justice. It is the keenest spur to exertion and the surest of all guards against improbity. It keeps the judge himself while trying under trial. According to the Supreme Court of Canada in ''Vancouver Sun (Re)'', the open court principle enhances the public's confidence in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jurisdiction draws its substance from international law, conflict of laws, constitutional law, and the powers of the executive and legislative branches of government to allocate resources to best serve the needs of society. International dimension Generally, international laws and treaties provide agreements which nations agree to be bound to. Such agreements are not always established or maintained. The exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction by three principles outlined in the UN charter. These are equality of states, territorial sovereignty and non-intervention. This raises the question of when can many states prescribe or enforce jurisdiction. The ''Lotus'' case establishes two key rules to the prescription and enforcement of jurisdi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Admission (law)
An admission in the law of evidence is a prior statement by an adverse party which can be admitted into evidence over a hearsay objection. In general, admissions are admissible in criminal and civil cases. At common law, admissions were admissible. A statement could only be excluded by a showing of involuntariness, unfairness, or that the circumstances under which the statement was obtained was improper or illegal. Form of admission An admission may be made orally or contained within a writing. In some situations, an admission that is made by an authorized agent of a party to litigation will be admissible as evidence and attributable to that party. Oral admission Where the admission is oral, the person who heard the admission may testify to what the party who made the admission said. Documental admission Where the admission is in the form of a written record or document, and evidence is offered to prove the contents of the written record, the best evidence rule applies to requ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judge's Chambers
A judge's chambers is the office of a judge, where the judge may hear certain types of cases, instead of in open court. Description A judge's chambers is the office of a judge, where certain types of matters can be heard "in chambers", also known as ''in camera'', rather than in open court. Generally, cases heard in chambers are cases, or parts of cases, in which the public and press are not allowed to observe the procedure.Eugene Ehrlich, ''Amo, Amas, Amat and More'', p. 151. Judge's chambers are often located on upper floors of the courthouse, away from the courtrooms, sometimes in groupings of judge's chambers; however, they may also be directly adjacent to the courtroom to which the judge is assigned. In some jurisdictions, a courtroom, rather than the judge's actual chambers, is used to hear matters "in chambers". Such courtrooms may also be called "chambers". History In English legal history, there was no such statutory sanction for the process before 1821, though the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juvenile Court
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, children who commit a crime are treated differently from legal adults that have committed the same offense. Industrialized countries differ in whether juveniles should be tried as adults for serious crimes or considered separately. Since the 1970s, minors have been tried increasingly as adults in response to "increases in violent juvenile crime". Young offenders may still not be prosecuted as adults. Serious offenses, such as murder or rape, can be prosecuted through adult court in England. However, as of 2007, no United States data reported any exact numbers of juvenile offenders prosecuted as adults. In contrast, countries such as Australia and Japan are in the early stages of developing and implementing youth-focused justice in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family Court
Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintiff came into court with “clean hands” and the request was reasonable, “quantum meruit”. Changes in laws and rules have made this distinction superfluous. Family courts hear all cases that relate to familial and domestic relationships. Each US state and each country has a different system utilized to address family law cases including decisions regarding divorce cases. In the United States Family courts were first established in the United States starting in the late 1910s at the behest of probation officers invested in the success of specialized domestic relations courts. Members of the National Probation Association (NPA) advanced the idea that "combining criminal nonsupport, juvenile delinquency, and divorce into a unified 'fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probate Court
A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the Administration of an estate on death, administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts or courts of ordinary. In some jurisdictions probate court functions are performed by a chancery court or another court of equity, or as a part or division of another court. Probate courts administer proper distribution of the assets of a Death, decedent (one who has died), Adjudication, adjudicates the validity of will (law), wills, enforces the provisions of a valid will (by issuing the Probate, grant of probate), prevents malfeasance by executors and administrators of Estate (law), estates, and provides for the equitable distribution of the assets of persons who die intestate (without a valid will), such as by granting a Letters of Administration, grant of administration giving judicial approval to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Surrogate's Court
The Surrogate's Court of the State of New York handles all probate and estate proceedings in the New York State Unified Court System. All wills are probated in this court and all estates of people who die without a will are handled in this court. Unclaimed property of the deceased without wills is handled by the Judge of this court. It also handles adoptions. There is a Surrogate's Court in each county in the state. The judges of this court are styled the "Surrogate of County". The surrogate is elected countywide, and is required to be a resident of the pertaining county. Each of New York's 62 counties has one surrogate, except New York County and Kings County which have two each. Surrogates are elected to 10-year terms, except those in the five counties within New York City where surrogates are elected to 14-year terms. In some counties, usually those with a small number of inhabitants, the judge of the County Court holds at the same time the office of surrogate. There have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
