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Court Of First Instance
A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Most appellate courts do not have the authority to hear testimony or take evidence, but instead rule solely on matters of law. In the trial court, evidence and testimony are admitted under the rules of evidence established by applicable procedural law and determinations called ''findings of fact'' are made based on the evidence. The court, presided over by one or more judges, makes ''findings of law'' based upon the applicable law. In most common law jurisdictions, the trial court often sits with a jury and one judge; in such jury trials, the jury acts as trier of fact. In some cases, the judge or judges act as triers of both fact and law, by either statute, custom, or agreement of the parties; this is referred to as a bench trial. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida Circuit Courts
The Florida circuit courts are State court (United States), state courts and trial courts of original jurisdiction for most controversies. In Florida, the circuit courts are one of four types of courts created by the Florida Constitution (the other three being the Florida Supreme Court, Florida district courts of appeal, and county court (Florida), Florida county courts). The circuit courts primarily handle felony criminal cases; family law matters; Civil law (common law), civil cases where the amount in controversy is greater than $50,000; probate, guardianship, and mental health cases; juvenile dependency and delinquency cases; and appeals of decisions in certain administrative, noncriminal infractions, and other types of cases. Circuits There are 20 judicial circuits in Florida, all but five of which span multiple List of counties in Florida, counties. They are: # First Circuit – Escambia County, Florida, Escambia, Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa County, F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quasi-judicial Bodies
A quasi-judicial body is a non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, which can be a public administrative agency (not part of the judicial branch of government) but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been given powers and procedures resembling those of a court of law or judge and which is obliged to objectively determine facts and draw conclusions from them so as to provide the basis of an official action. Such actions are able to remedy a situation or impose legal penalties, and they may affect the legal rights, duties or privileges of specific parties.''West's Encyclopedia of American Law'', edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. Powers Such bodies usually have powers of adjudication in such matters as: * breach of discipline * conduct rules * trust in the matters of money or otherwise * commercial and investment disputes Their powers are usually limited to a very specific area of expert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amount In Controversy
Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount (or below a certain maximum amount) before that court may hear the case. United States In federal courts Diversity jurisdiction In United States federal courts, the term currently applies only to cases brought under diversity jurisdiction, meaning that the court is able to hear the case only because it is between citizens of different states. In such cases, the U.S. Congress has decreed in 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) that the court may hear such suits only where "the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000." This amount represents a significant increase from earlier years. Congress first established the amount in controversy requirement when it created diversity jurisdiction in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Small Claims Court
Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may be known as a county or magistrate's court. These courts can be found in Australia, Brazil, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Greece, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria and the United States. Purpose and operation The jurisdiction of small-claims courts typically encompasses private disputes that do not involve large amounts of money. The routine collection of small debts forms a large portion of the cases brought to small-claims courts, as well as evictions and other disputes between landlords and tenants, unless the jurisdiction is already covered by a tenancy board. A small-claims court generally has a maximum monetary limit to the amount of judgments it can award, often in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Tax Court
The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article I of the Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court". The Tax Court specializes in adjudicating disputes over federal income tax, generally prior to the time at which formal tax assessments are made by the Internal Revenue Service. Though taxpayers may choose to litigation, litigate tax matters in a variety of legal settings, outside of Bankruptcy in the United States, bankruptcy, the Tax Court is the only forum in which taxpayers may do so without having first paid the disputed tax in full. Parties who contest the imposition of a tax may also bring an action in any United States District Court, or in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family Court
Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintiff came into court with "clean hands" and the request was reasonable, " quantum meruit". Changes in laws and rules have made this distinction superfluous. Family courts hear all cases that relate to familial and domestic relationships. Each US state and each country has a different system utilized to address family law cases including decisions regarding divorce cases. Family courts have been accused of sentencing disparity both discriminating against women and discriminating against men. In the United States Family courts were first established in the United States starting in the late 1910s at the behest of probation officers invested in the success of specialized domestic relations courts. Members of the National Probation Associ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probate
In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy that apply in the jurisdiction where the deceased resided at the time of their death. The granting of probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a will. A probate court decides the legal validity of a testator's (deceased person's) will and grants its approval, also known as granting probate, to the executor. The probated will then becomes a legal instrument that may be enforced by the executor in the law courts if necessary. A probate also officially appoints the executor (or personal representative), generally named in the will, as having legal power to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juvenile Court
Juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, children who commit a crime are treated differently from legal adults who have committed the same offense. Juveniles have a lack of capacity for understanding their criminal acts, meaning they also have diminished criminal responsibility compared to their adult counterparts. In some states like California and Georgia, the Juvenile Court may also have jurisdiction over juvenile dependency cases which involve determining whether a child has been abused, abandoned, or neglected by their parent or legal guardian. Industrialized countries differ in whether juveniles should be charged as adults for serious crimes or considered separately. Since the 1970s, minors have been increasingly tried as adults in response to "increases in violent juvenile c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subject-matter Jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction, also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae'', is a legal doctrine regarding the ability of a court to lawfully hear and adjudicate a case. Subject-matter relates to the nature of a case; whether it is criminal, civil, whether it is a state issue or a federal issue, and other substantive features of the case. Courts must have subject-matter jurisdiction over the particular case in order to hear it. A court is given the ability to hear a case by a foundational document, usually a Constitution. Courts are granted either general jurisdiction or limited jurisdiction, depending on their type. For example, in the US, state courts have general jurisdiction over the affairs within their state. That means, for most cases, subject-matter jurisdiction of the State court (United States), state courts covers nearly all subjects within that state, such as family law, state criminal law, state civil claims, state tort claims, etc. That power is usually vested in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limited Jurisdiction
Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing authority, such as a constitution or a statute. Special jurisdiction courts must demonstrate that they are authorized to exert jurisdiction under their issuing authority. In contrast, general jurisdiction courts need only to demonstrate that they may assert in personal jurisdiction over a party. Differences Sometimes the term "special courts" is used to refer to courts of limited jurisdiction: "Special courts" has unfortunate connotations, however, because the designation is often given by totalitarian governments to tribunals set up to persecute government opponents or otherwise help commit human rights abuses. That is a different kind of justice: not because it does not confer upon courts the power to hear only certain types of cases; but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court Clerk
A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court and administering oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors as well as performing some quasi- secretarial duties. The records management duties of a court clerk include the acceptance of documents for filing with the court to become part of the court's official records, preserving and protecting those records, providing the general public with access to those records, and maintaining the docket, register of actions, and/or minutes of the court which list all filings and events in each case. These duties are important because the availability of legal relief often depends upon the timely filing of documents before applicable deadlines. United Kingdom England and Wales In the magistrates' courts of England and Wales, where the bench will usually have no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
