COURT SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Court Services Management

Court Services Management

The Texas Court System

"Our legal system based on the principle that an independent, fair, and competent judiciary will interpret and apply the laws that govern us. The role of the judiciary is central to American concepts of justice and the rule of law."

Texas Code of Judicial Conduct

The Texas Court System consists of many trial courts and appellate courts. The trial courts consisting of the municipal court, justice of the peace courts, county-level courts, and the district courts. The appellate courts consist of fourteen intermediate courts and two supreme courts. While we explain about the many types of courts the Texas court system has, there are two types of law that determines the appropriate court for a particular case, the civil or criminal. And go in depth about how judges are selected.

There are two types of law that are applicable in determining the appropriate court, the civil or criminal law.

The civil law exists to protect the rights and property and to hold individuals accountable for their actions. Civil lawsuits usually involve two private entities, at least one of which is attempting to recover damages or to correct a situation that the party perceives as being unfair. Among the most frequently civil cases are contract disputes, usually from those that arise from agreements between two or more individuals or corporations. Other civil cases may involve inheritances and divorces. The initiating civil court action is called the plaintiff, who brings a suit against the defendant. With few exceptions, anyone may file a civil lawsuit if the plaintiff believes that the defendant has caused some type of monetary, emotional, or physical harm.( Lawrence, 2005)

Criminal law is law that focuses on regulating conduct and protecting society from wrongful or unlawful actions of individuals. Such examples of criminal acts are auto theft, rape, and assault is a few. The focus of criminal law is on the government's power to define and punish illegal acts. A prosecutor, who represents the government and the interests of crime victims in court proceedings, initiates criminal law cases. Criminal law is highly structured and codified. In order to initiate a criminal case, the prosecutor must be able to allege that a criminal defendant's actions violated a specific statute. Sometimes an event, such as a violent assault, may be the catalyst for both civil and criminal actions. A such example is that if a person shoots and injures another may be prosecuted for assault, because there is a specific stature prohibiting this conduct. The victim would also be entitled to sue the assailant in civil court to recover medical expenses, lost wages, and monetary damages for pain and suffering.

One of the many trial courts is the municipal court. There are currently 848 municipal courts in Texas to hear cases involving traffic laws, some state law violations, and infractions pertaining to city ordinances. All cases heard in municipal court are criminal in nature, and traffic law violations dominate the ...