Role Of The Civil And Criminal Courts Law Essay

Role Of The Civil And Criminal natural law approachs virtue EssayThe criminal and civil jurisdictions have many differences and some similarities in the bearing they deal with fortunes. In this court report I will be discussing the role of the civil and criminal courts by witnessing the justness in action and will also comp be and contrast the courts.Hierarchy of the CourtsBelow is a artless(prenominal) diagram of the hierarchy of the courts in England and Wales. totally criminal scales argon perceive at the magistrates court, only when for severe offences such as murder and cocker it whitethorn be heard at the crown court. All civil topics start at the county court which deals with a range of issues from small claims to complex cases. If the case goes to approach it will be heard in the courts listed above and it will follow the courts hierarchy. The doctrine of judicial spring is also based on the courts hierarchy where the higher courts will bind lower courts on f ormer finalitys made.Criminal Jurisdiction Crown CourtTo witness the law in action in a criminal jurisdiction the court that I visited was Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester. The court generally dealt with indictable offences and either way offences, which could be heard in the Magistrates Court or the Crown Court dep determinationing on what the suspect chooses.During the visit to the court I fostered a trial which was a rape case. This was seen as a reconstruction case as witnesses had to be called to reconstruct what had happened in the case. The facts of the case atomic number 18 as follows. The defendant, the defendants sister (X), the dupe and the dupes brother (Y) after attending a family barbeque were quite sot and so they all went to Ys house. While they were at Ys house they drank much than alcohol. At this point the defendant and the victim were both precise drunk. by and by feeling tired, the victim fully clothed decided to go to eternal sleep on the sof a. The defendant slept in a nonher room and X and Y slept in the similar room. After waking up some time later the victim realised that she wasnt dressed in the kindred way that she had gone to sleep and physically felt as though she had sexual intercourse. Sat following(a) to her was the defendant. The victim seeing the defendant ran to her X and Ys bedroom and told them what had happened and remained in their room. Seeing the victim like this Y rushed down and assaulted the defendant and told him to get out of the house.The indictment was clearn to the dialog box after the facts of the case was told by the pursuit. The indictment set out the charges which the defendant was to be tried. It contained two issues the first was whether the defendant by design penetrated with the victim and the game issue of whether the victim consented to have sexual intercourse. The first issue has been admitted by the defendant as he claims that he did have sexual intercourse with the victim, but the question remains of whether the victim consented.This case was heard in front of a judge and control panel. The circuit judge had a very active role during the trial he had to make sure the case is being conducted accordingly with relevant law and practice. The judges main role in the case was to direct the gore and also to give the sentence according to the case if the defendant was found guilty. Before the trial began the judge directed the venire on what they had to do and what they could not do. For example, they had to listen to the facts of the case, evidence and witness statements and decide whether the defendant is guilty or innocent. They were also told not to discuss the case outside court as the close they give may be influenced and will not be seen to be just. The instructions that were stipulation(p) were clear and at a lower placestandable and the control board seemed to have chthonianstood it.The jury consisted of twelve members as it was a criminal case. These members were aged 18-70, lived in the UK for vanadium years since the age of thirteen and randomly selected from the electoral register to make it fair and represent the society. By having a trial by a jury it allows ordinary members of the public to get involved and live on what is happening in the law. But more importantly, it allows the defendant to be judged by his own peers. Lord Devlin describes the jury as a little parliament and believes it is the lamp that shows that freedom lives. Clearly, this statement suggests that the jury is seen to be an important die of the legal system. The jury not only judges according to the facts of the case but also mitigates the crudeness of the law as they decide the case according to what they think is fair and right.However, sometimes they may not be the right person to give verdicts as they are not legally qualified but more importantly they may get it wrong. For example, in the case of Pottle Randal1(1991) the defendant was acquitted even though there was evidence against him. This illustrates the point that the judgement of the case should be left to the judge and not the jury as sometimes they do not get it right. This also leads to inconsistency and loosing certainty in the law as the decision will vary from jury to jury. Many criticism have been made against the jury system, Darbyshire claims that juries are not random, not representative, but anti-democratic, irrational and haphazard legislators, whose erratic and secret decisions run prevent to the rule of law2.During the trial the judge did not use the doctrine of judicial origin when he summed up the case at the end and there was very limited use of statutory reading material when the legal issue was addressed to the jury. This is because the jury had to decide the case and his role was to direct them. When the judge summed up the case, after the prosecution and defence presented and questioned their witnesses, he addressed the main poi nts in the case and the legal issues in relation to those facts to the jury. This helped the jury to understand fully what they had to do.The main legal issue that was addressed was the definition of rape. However, the second set forth of the definition was explained to the jury as the case was concerning this issue and not the intention of the defendant. The second part concerned whether the victim had consented and whether the defendant reasonably believed that she had consented to the sexual intercourse and had freedom and capacity to make that resource3. The jury had to take this into consideration and whether the victim was able to consent while she was drunk. It was seen that the interpretation of the act given by the judge was given using the literal approach. The plain and ordinary meaning of the word was given to give effect to parliaments intention.The decision of the jury was based on the evidence, witness statements and the reconstruction of the case. At the end of the trial the jury were given time to decide the verdict. In the specific case the verdict was not guilty and the defendant was acquitted. The decision was made in secret. At this point it could be argued that this is seen as a weakness of the jury as we are not able to know how they r distributivelyed such a decision as there is no explanation given.Civil Jurisdiction County CourtMajority of civil cases are heard at the County Court, many of which are snobbish. Due to the matters being cliquish many will accent and resolve their fight outside of court, with very few cases going to trial. However, if the parties wish they may still go to court with t heir claim.Some civil courts that I attended heard many private disputes which were not available for the public to sit in at. However, at Manchester County Court I was able to attend a trial, this was a space case. The summary of the case was stated by the prosecution at the starting time of the trial. The facts of the case are as fo llows. The defendant and the claimant lived together for sixteen years. In 1989 they purchased a house which was under the claimants name. In 1996 the house was remortgaged and the claimant sold the house to the defendant for 85,000 at a profit of 20,000. The money obtained was utilize to pay off the mortgage payment by the claimant which was 44,000 and the rest (31,000) was put into the claimants gold deposit account. When the property was first purchased it was seen as a joint venture by the parties even though the property was under the claimants name. However, after the property was sold to the defendant it was claimed that the there was no give arising surrounded by them and it was no more or no less than just a remortgaging exercise. But the claimant claims that even after the remortgage they were still backing together and the property was seen as a joint venture and they both still had a keep out relationship before the break up in 2006. The issue arising in this case i s whether there was a relationship between the claimant and defendant in order for the claimant to obtain her share of the property.This case was heard by a district judge alone. The role of the judge was to establish the facts and to apply relevant law to the case followed by a reasoned judgement at the end of the trial. The defendant and the claimant were both cross examined by the prosecution and the defendant and were also questioned by the judge on certain issues that was considered to be important. This allowed both parties to hand over their point of view and evidence to support their argument in the case.During the trial the doctrine of judicial precedent was used by the prosecution to support the argument he was presenting. To establish that there was trust between the two parties Lord Hoffmans statement in a House of Lord case was used where it sated that trust can be established between the parties. The doctrine of judicial precedent plays an important role in the Englis h legal system. It is based on stare decisis where the previous decision of a higher court stands. This is seen to be cover song on all lower courts. So it will be seen that the judge must consider the case when the judgement is given. However, the judge may not have to follow the previous case and can distinguish it on the basis that the facts of the case are different, but if the facts of the case are the same the case can be used.Many parties can go to court to solve their dispute. However, there are alternative methods available for civil cases rather than going to court.Alternative altercate ResolutionAlternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is another method of resolving a dispute rather than going to court. ADR is part of a continuing contest over the dominance of courts in the apparatus of state law4. ADR may be more relevant to civil matters than criminal matter as it mainly focuses on disputes involving parties, however, it could also be used in criminal matters depending o n the nature of the case. Both litigation and ADR have their strengths and weaknesses when the methods are used. ADR is cheap, less formal, flexible and quicker compared to litigation. But most important of all it protects the relationship of the two parties as there is no winner and no looser. However, if parties do not compromise it may take long for the dispute to be solved also the decision made in many types of ADR is not legally binding such as negotiation, mediation and conciliation.On the other hand, with litigation it is expensive, formal and a more intricate process compared to alternative ADR. Furthermore, it can be time consuming and not flexible enough to example the parties. However, a decision is always given at the end, which is legally binding and enforced through the courts. As to which method is used depends on the parties and the nature of the case and how complicated it is to solve. ADR is a more convenient way to resolve a dispute than using litigation as the re are many more advantages in using this method than going to court.Comparison of the Criminal and the Civil CourtThere are many differences in the criminal and the civil jurisdiction in terms of the purpose of action, concern, parties involved, standard of proof, the decision and the court in which the case is heard (illustrated in the diagram above). Criminal law is concerned with offences against the state. In order for the defendant to be found guilty the burden of proof is on the prosecution to present that the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The courts of criminal jurisdiction are concerned with punishing the wrongdoer. On the other hand, the civil jurisdiction is concerned to resolve the legal dispute between the two private parties. The standard of proof is also different as it is on the balance of probabilities. These differences are reflected in the cases which were heard at court. For example, in the criminal court the case was to establish that the defenda nt was guilty of rape beyond reasonable doubt where as in the civil court there was no need for the prosecution to do this.ConclusionOverall, the courts are distinct in the cases that are heard. The role of the judge in each court was different but was seen to be very important. The courts are seen to be very important for parties that submit their cause of action to court as a person with legal knowledge is able to help them and decision given is binding and legally enforced to do right to the party that has been wronged.WORD matter2,460