HSP_MGMT 1133 1st EditionExam # 1 Study Guide Lectures: 2 - 10Lecture 2 (Jan 23)Court System Overview:What are the three tiers of the Court System? What are the types of courts? What are the 12 steps in civil case? Three tiers: 1. Trial court2. Appellate court3. Supreme courtHierarchy of Law:- Federal- U.S. Supreme Courto 9 judges (or “justices”)- sit as a group to make decisions and write opinions on the cases that are brought to themo Federal judges are appointed and have life tenure- aka they serve for life once they are electedo 5 Republican justiceso 4 Democratic justiceso Function of this court is to be the last court to rule over a case- State- Missouri Supreme Courto 7 Judges- Local- cities and countiesTypes of Courts:- Civil- a private party initiates a dispute, the government does noto Usually a party is trying to gain monetary damageso Examples of civil cases: torts, breach of contract- Criminal- initiated by the governmento Felony- most serious criminal caseo Misdemeanoro Infraction- Regulatory- government does this to protect the publico Ex: Revoking someone’s license after a DWI, shutting down a restaurant with improper food violations12 Step Civil Case Model: The 12 steps generally taken in a civil case1. Incident (or tort) occurs- ex: employee forgets to clean up a spill in a restaurant and guest slips, falls and breaks a lega. Statute of limitations begins to tick- this is the time period that is imposed underthe law that states how quickly a case has to be filed; so if the statute of limitations is 2 years, the plaintiff has 2 years after the incident to file the case or else it is deemed stale and can be dismissed2. Demand from plaintiff- this states that the plaintiff is pressing charges against the defendant for whatever reasona. Defendant’s response- they can pay the amount requested for the damages or they can argue it, which leads to bringing the case to court; these statements are not allowed in court3. Filing of the lawsuita. Where is it filed? Former rules say to file wherever the plaintiff wants to file, but now you must file the lawsuit in the county/city where the incident took place atb. What is filed? It is called a petition if it is a state lawsuit, and a complaint if it is a federal lawsuit- Contents of the Petition/Complaint:1. Statement of jurisdiction- says who is involved and why the court has the power to decide over the case2. Cause of action- explains to the court what happened, the facts and the legal theory that the plaintiff is suing on3. Prayer- what are you asking the court for? Ex: “Plaintiff respectfully asks the defendant to award damages in the amount of $500,000…”4. Service/Transmission of the suit- the suit must be transmitted or delivered after it is filed (otherwise the defendant will not ever know he is being sued)a. Methods of transportation:- Personal service- one person (usually deputy sheriff) hand-delivers the papers to another person- Mail- Publication- newspapers, if you cannot find someone or do not know where they reside at- Internet- via email5. Defendant’s Response- if you are being sued, you have to formally respond somehow.a. How long do you have to respond? In a federal lawsuit, you have 20 days. In a state lawsuit, you have 30 days.b. Consequences of not filing- you can lose by defaultc. What do you file?- Motion- motion to ask the court for some type of order before the suit can proceed further; this is usually a way to stall for more time- Answer- either admits or denies the lawsuit, says whether it is true or not- Counterclaim- defendant comes back and tries to sue the plaintiff as well- These things can all be filed on their own or in conjunction with one another6. Discovery- the time used by both parties to get facts on the case in order to successfully argue against the other party in courta. What is the purpose? - Trial preparation- Simplification of the issues- Encouragement of settlementsb. Scope/boundaries- information that is relevant to the lawsuit that is being decided on- “Privilege information”- information that is not used; it is given to the lawyer in good faith that they will not tell anyonec. Procedure- you have to exercise your right to discovery- it does not occur automatically; each side has to take the initiative to discover facts about the case on their own timed. Methods and devices-- Interrogatories- written questions that one side sends the other to be answered- Document request- written request for certain documents (medical bills, insurance policies, etc)- Depositions- oral discovery, attorneys get a witness into a room and they ask him questions and write down his answers; can be expensive- Medical/mental exam- for use if someone is hurt but you don’t necessarily believe that they are hurt as bas as they say they are- Request to inspect the business7. Pretrial Proceedings- Motions, Summary Judgmenta. Summary judgment tells the judge to dismiss the case without a trial because there is no basis for recovery8. Triala. Petit jury- the jury that comes to the trial to render a verdict on guilty or not guilty; either side has a right to a jury in a civil case if money damages are being soughtb. Jury Selection- jury pool is obtained through government selection of some sortc. Jury qualifications-- Age 21+- Most states require that you are a US Citizen- Character: 1. Voir Dire process- narrowing a large group down to a smaller group of jurors by asking them certain questions to find out if theyhave any connections to the case- i.e.) a person cannot be a jurorin a trial against Hilton if they have stock in Hilton, they will be biased - Challenges for jurors- 2 types:1. For cause- the lawyer calls out a juror and convinces the judge that that person is not a proper juror for some reason; Ex) “Your honor, juror #5 says that he owns stock in the company being sued, so I’m convinced he will be biased in this trial and he is an improper juror” – then the judge can remove this juror from the case2. Peremptory- they do not have to have any reason for saying that the juror is not a proper juror, you can base it on a “gut feeling”d. Opening statements- each lawyer makes a statement to the jury explaining their evidence and the case they are going to make- Plaintiff goes first and calls a witness to the stand to engage in direct examination of the witness- What the witness says is called “testimony”- Lay witness- just a normal person who saw or heard something