Intro to Judicial Information - JUDICIAL BRANCH

A. Interprets the laws and regulations made by legislative and executive branches

 B. Court is a tribunal established by the government to hear and decide matters giving redress to the injured, enforcing punishment against wrongdoers

 C. Powers of the judicial branch

1. Determines constitutionality of laws

2. Characterization of cases

a.Courts determine what nature of case; e.g., tort, contract

b. Nature of case determines legal rules to be applied

3. Promulgation of rules of court

a.Tells individual how to access the judicial system

b. Dictates proper forms and procedures to be followed

c. Rules of court may supersede statutes in conflict with rules

d. Answers question "how" something is done in any legal research problems

D. Criminal v. civil case actions

1. Crime - any act or omission prohibited by public law for the protection of the public and made punishable by the state in a judicial proceeding in its own name

2. Civil action - adjudication of a private dispute deciding the rights and responsibilities of the parties

3. The case name in a criminal action will be in the name of the state v. the defendant party or parties

4. The case name in a civil action will be in the name of the individual private parties

5. The judicial system provides for a nonviolent resolution of criminal matters and private disputes

E. Precedent - an adjudication of a case that furnished a unique or initial rule or model for deciding subsequent cases that present the same or similar legal problem

F. Stare Decisis - duty to follow precedent

1. The fundamental principle of the Anglo-American legal system that forms the bases of legal research

2. The doctrine is based on the concept that people similarly situated should be similarly dealt with and judgments should be consistent

3. Bound - The legal doctrine that directs a lower court to follow a rule of law adjudicated by a higher court in the same jurisdiction

  G. Authority

1. Mandatory authority - judicial decisions from the same jurisdictions are binding on a lower court

2. Persuasive authority - a judicial decision from a different jurisdiction are not binding but the court may be "persuaded" to follow the earlier ruling

H. Judicial materials tend to be interpretations of the constitution, statutes, or other judicial decisions - legal information authority

I. Much of legal research is the search for legal judicial precedent to support desired adversarial position, commonly called finding a "case on point"

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