Instructor's Manual to Accompany:
The World of Texas Politics
Chapter 8: The Judiciary
Outline:
I. A Tale of Two Courts: Judge Reed defies the Legislature and the Fourth Court of Appeals and winds up in jail.
II. The Third Branch of Government: The judiciary may or may not be dangerous, but it is political.
A. Courts as Political Institutions: They allocate "the goodies."
B. Safeguards against Bias: Minimize but do not eliminate.
III. Texas Judicial Structure
A. Municipal Courts: City traffic courts.
B. Justice of the Peace Courts: Small claims, misdemeanors, and speeding fines.
C. Constitutional County Courts: Some administrative and some judicial authority.
D. Statutory County Courts: Judicial authority only.
E. District Courts: The principal trial courts for the state.
F. Courts of Appeals: Have both criminal and civil appellate jurisdiction.
G. Court of Criminal Appeals: Supreme Court for criminal cases.
H. Texas Supreme Court: Civil jurisdiction only.
I. U. S. Supreme Court: Supervises all state judiciaries.
IV. Judicial Administration: The Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and presiding district judges balance the workload.
V. Court Workload: Civil dockets are heavier than criminal dockets, but criminal cases are increasing faster.
VI. Criminal Procedure: It may or may not maintain the assumption of innocence.
A. Violation: What was done and who did it.
B. Investigation: Getting the goods on the bad guys.
C. Indictment, Arraignment, and Pleading: Early stages of judicial process.
D. Trial and Sentencing: Determine the facts, convict or acquit, and punish those who are guilty.
E. Appeal: Determines if interpretive or procedural errors were made.
F. Culmination of the Criminal Process: Suspension, probation, or incarceration.
VII. Juvenile Procedure: Less formal and more flexible than adult criminal procedure.
VIII. Civil Procedure: Redress for private offenses.
A. Origination: Aggrieved party files suit.
B. Preliminary Procedure: Getting ready for trial – or not.
C. Trial: Avoided if possible.
D. Appeal: Checking for interpretive or procedural errors.
IX. Judicial Reform
A. Simplified Structures: Fewer courts and overlapping jurisdictions.
B. Selection: Should we elect or appoint?
X. Politics Of The Civil Justice System
A. Business Interests: Taken by Republicans.
B. Plaintiffs and Attorneys: Taken by Democrats.
C. Civil Justice Reform: Is it reform or is it denial of justice?
XI. Summary and Conclusion: Courts are political institutions and judges of the two parties are clearly distinguishable.
XII. End of the Tale: Judge Reed proved to be too troublesome to keep in jail.
Summary:
Courts are political institutions because of the ways in which we select judges and the ways in which the courts allocate values. There are safeguards that help to ameliorate the effects of judicial bias. The structure of the Texas judiciary is complex and involves 7 court levels, some with overlapping jurisdiction and some with specialized appellate jurisdictions. A legislatively established system of judicial administration helps to keep the workload at a manageable level, as new criminal cases outnumber new civil cases with 2/3 of the total workload of the courts consisting of civil cases. The steps involved in criminal procedure, juvenile procedure, and civil procedure are briefly described. Reform proposals to simplify the court structure and to improve the process of judicial selection have failed to win the support they need to be adopted. Finally, the politics of the civil judicial process, is discussed, showing how the Democrats and Republicans have distinctively different philosophies of civil justice.
Discussion Topics:
1. Some research suggests that there is no qualitative difference in the work products of elected and appointed judges. If these conclusions are accurate, are there any remaining arguments against elected judges?
2. The Texas arrangement of two courts of final appellate jurisdiction has been widely criticized as wasteful and duplicative. Are there any arguments in defense of the current arrangement.
3. Would nonpartisan judicial elections be better than the current system of partisan election? Why or why not?
Individual or Small Group Projects:
1. Organize a panel consisting of a district judge, a plaintiffs attorney, and a defense attorney to discuss the impact of recent civil justice reforms.
2. Instead of a panel, establish groups in your classes and have one group interview a judge, another group interview a plaintiffs attorney, and another group interview a defense attorney on the subject of recent reforms in the civil justice system.
3. Arrange for groups of students to observe civil and criminal court trials which are likely to be short. Court administrators can help you decide when such cases will be heard.
4. Organize the class and hold a mock trial. Ask an attorney or two to serve as technical advisers and one to serve as a judge.
Essay Questions:
1. Describe the ABA system for judicial selection and explain what problems it is designed to solve.
2. What are the arguments for and against elected judges?
3. Explain what makes the judicial process political.
4. What might be some of the effects of judicial selection by nonpartisan election?
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