POLS 2312 1st Edition Lecture 25 Outline of Last Lecture I. Civil CasesII. Criminal CasesIII. Appellate JurisdictionOutline of Current Lecture I. CourtsA. Municipal CourtsB. County Level CourtsC. District CourtsD. Supreme Court II. JuriesA. Grand juryB. IndictmentC. ExemptionsD. Hung JuryIII. JudgesA. Merit PlanCurrent Lecturel.A. Municipal courts are appointed, cities set the qualifications, salaries are paid by the city, and they always are original jurisdiction.B. There are 254 county level courts in Texas that have a constitutional judge that presides over county commissioners.C. District courts are the general trial courts. They handle original jurisdiction and civil claims, divorce, federal, criminal, and juvenile cases.D. Only Texas and Oklahoma have a split supreme court system. The Supreme Court deals with civil and juvenile cases while the Court of Criminal Appeals deals with criminal cases.ll.The frequency of jury use is declining.These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.A. The grand jury is a 12 person jury who sits in pretrial proceedings to determine if sufficient evidence exists to try and individual. B. Indictment is a formal written accusation issued by the grand jury against a party charged with a crime. No Bill is when there is not enough evidence to be found guiltyC. For exemption of jury duty one must be over 70 years of age, a student, or woman/man with custody of a child under age 10.D. A hung jury is when they can’t agree on verdict after suitable period of deliberation.lll.Most states elect judges, and some states allow the governor to appoint judges.A. The Merit Plan or Missouri Plan selects judges based of their merit/quality of a candidate. Appointees later face retention election, and the governor fills court vacancies from a list provided by the judicial commission. Those selected hold their posts for at least a year. Names are put on a retention ballot and voters chose to keep them or
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