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Objection (United States Law)
In the law of the United States of America, an objection is a formal protest raised in court during a trial to disallow a witness's testimony or other evidence in violation of the rules of evidence or other procedural law. An objection is typically raised after the opposing party asks a question of the witness, but before the witness can answer, or when the opposing party is about to enter something into evidence. The judge then makes a ruling on whether the objection is "''sustained''" (the judge agrees with the objection and disallows the question, testimony, or evidence) or "''overruled''" (the judge disagrees with the objection and allows the question, testimony, or evidence). An attorney may choose to "rephrase" a question that has been objected to, so long as the judge permits it. Lawyers should make an objection before there is an answer to the question. Objections in general An attorney may also raise an objection against a judge's ruling, to preserve the right to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Law Of The United States
The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, federal government of the United States, as well as various civil liberties. The Constitution sets out the boundaries of federal law, which consists of Act of Congress, Acts of Congress, treaty, treaties ratified by the United States Senate, Senate, regulations promulgated by the executive branch, and case law originating from the United States federal courts, federal judiciary. The United States Code is the official compilation and Codification (law), codification of general and permanent federal statutory law. Federal law and treaties, so long as they are in accordance with the Constitution, preempt conflicting state and territorial laws in the 50 U.S. states and in the territories. However, the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deposition (law)
A deposition in the law of the United States, or examination for discovery in the law of Canada, involves the taking of sworn, out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that may be reduced to a written transcript for later use in court or for discovery purposes. Depositions are commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada. They are almost always conducted outside court by the lawyers themselves, with no judge present to supervise the examination. History Depositions by written interrogatories first appeared around the mid-15th century as a procedure for discovery, factfinding, and evidence preservation in suits in equity in English courts. Available through HeinOnline. They differed radically from modern depositions in three ways: (1) the party seeking a witness's testimony merely propounded written interrogatories which were read out loud by a master or court-appointed commissioner to the witness in a closed proceeding without parties or counsel present; (2) the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peremptory Challenge
In American and Australian law, the right of peremptory challenge is a right in jury selection for the attorneys to reject a certain number of potential jurors without stating a reason. Other potential jurors may be challenged for cause, i.e. by giving a good reason why they might be unable to reach a fair verdict, but the challenge will be considered by the presiding judge and may be denied. A peremptory challenge can be a major part of ''voir dire''. A peremptory challenge also allows attorneys to veto a potential juror on a "hunch". The idea behind peremptory challenges is that if both parties have contributed in the configuration of the jury, they will find its verdict more acceptable. The existence of peremptory challenges is argued to be an important safeguard in the judicial process, allowing both the defendant and the prosecution to get rid of potentially biased jurors. Their use allows attorneys to use their training and experience to dismiss jurors who might say the cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Direct Examination
The direct examination or examination-in-chief is one stage in the process of adducing evidence from witnesses in a court of law. Direct examination is the questioning of a witness by the lawyer/side/party that called such witness in a trial. Direct examination is usually performed to elicit evidence in support of facts which will satisfy a required element of a party's claim or defense. In direct examination, one is generally prohibited from asking leading questions. This prevents a lawyer from feeding answers to a favorable witness. An exception to this rule occurs if one side has called a witness, but it is either understood or becomes clear, that the witness is hostile to the calling lawyer's side of the controversy, the lawyer who called the witness may then ask the court to declare the person on the stand a hostile witness. If the court does so, the lawyer may thereafter ask witness leading questions during direct examination. The techniques of direct examination are tau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argumentative
In the American legal system, argumentative is an evidentiary objection raised in response to a question which prompts a witness to draw inferences from facts of the case. One common misconception is that argumentative questions are meant only to cause a witness to argue with the examiner. This error rests on misunderstanding the word "argument". ''Argument'' can mean " a series of persuasive statements" (the legal sense discussed in this article) as well as "a verbal fight or disagreement". Thus, an argumentative objection may be raised only when the lawyer himself is making a legal argument under the guise of asking a question. "Badgering the witness" is the proper objection for a lawyer who is antagonizing or mocking a witness by asking insulting or derisive questions, perhaps in an attempt to provoke an emotional response."Badgering the Witness: An attorney may not harass or continue to annoy/aggravate a witness." Minnesota State Bar,Mock Trial Objections, accessed 22 March 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trier Of Fact
A trier of fact or finder of fact is a person or group who determines which facts are available in a legal proceeding (usually a trial) and how relevant they are to deciding its outcome. To determine a fact is to decide, from the evidence presented, whether something existed or some event occurred. The factfinder differs by the type of proceeding. In a jury trial, it is the jury; in a non-jury trial, the judge is both the factfinder and the trier of law. In administrative proceedings, the factfinder may be a hearing officer or a hearing body.Law Dictionary: Fact-Finder Accessed 17 November 2008. Juries In a jury trial, a is the trier of fact. The |
Judicial Discretion
Judicial discretion is the power of the judiciary to make some legal decisions according to their discretion. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the ability of judges to exercise discretion is an aspect of judicial independence. Where appropriate, judicial discretion allows a judge to decide a legal case or matter within a range of possible decisions. However, where the exercise of discretion goes beyond constraints set down by legislation, by binding precedent, or by a constitution, the court may be abusing its discretion and undermining the rule of law. In that case, the decision of the court may be ''ultra vires'', and may sometimes be characterized as judicial activism. In 1824, US Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the following on this subject: Judicial power, as contradistinguished from the power of the laws, has no existence. Courts are the mere instruments of the law, and can will nothing. When they are said to exercise a discretion, it is a mere legal di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, most populous U.S. state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated Administrative division, subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous Statistical area (United States), urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento, California, Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the List of largest California cities by population, most populous city in the state and the List of United States cities by population, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
State Court (United States)
In the United States, a state court has jurisdiction over disputes with some connection to a U.S. state. State courts handle the vast majority of civil and criminal cases in the United States; the United States federal courts are far smaller in terms of both personnel and caseload, and handle different types of cases. Each state "is free to organize its courts as it sees fit," and consequently, "no two states have identical court structures." Generally, state courts are common law courts, and apply their respective state laws and procedures to decide cases. They are organized pursuant to and apply the law in accordance with their state's constitution, state statutes, and binding decisions of courts in their state court hierarchy. Where applicable, they also apply federal law. Generally, a single judicial officer, usually called a judge, exercises original jurisdiction by presiding over contested criminal or civil actions which culminate in trials, although most matters stop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Federal Courts
The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution and Law of the United States, laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primarily of the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the United States District Courts, U.S. District Courts. It also includes a variety of other lesser federal tribunals. Article III of the United States Constitution, Article III of the Constitution requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and permits the Congress to create other federal courts and place limitations on their jurisdiction. Article III states that United States federal judge, federal judges are appointed by the President of the United States, president with the consent of the United States Senate, Senate to serve until they resign, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court Reporter
A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certified transcript by nature of their training, certification, and usually licensure. This can include courtroom hearings and trials, depositions and discoveries, sworn statements, and more. United States The court reporter in some states is a notary by virtue of their state licensing, and a notary public is authorized to administer oaths to witnesses and who certifies that their transcript of the proceedings is a verbatim account of what was said—unlike a court recorder, who only operates recording machinery and sends the audio files for transcription over the internet, or a voice writer, who uses voice-to-text software. Many states require a court reporter to hold a certification obtained through the National Court Reporters Association; some oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statute Of Westminster 1285
The Statute of Westminster of 1285, also known as the Statute of Westminster II or the Statute of Westminster the Second, like the Statute of Westminster 1275, is a code in itself, and contains the famous clause '' De donis conditionalibus'', one of the fundamental institutes of the medieval land law of England. William Stubbs says of it: Most of the statute was repealed in the Republic of Ireland in 1983 and the rest in 2009. Chapters The Statute of Westminster II is composed of 50 chapters. The '' de donis conditionalibus'' clause is chapter 1, and is still in force. Chapter 46 became known as the Commons Act 1285 and was repealed in England in 2006, and in Wales in 2007. at legislation.gov.uk See also * |
