Law and Fiction: Getting the Facts Straight 2

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Getting the Facts Straight: State Court Terminology
(First published in the Sisters in Crime Guppy Newsletter, First Draft)

Last time, we talked about the federal court system. State court systems are more complex and vary greatly. A writer must check out the local system for her story setting. Here, we'll talk about a critical distinction--civil versus criminal law--and the basic structure of state court systems.

Civil law involves suits between people, including businesses and organizations. Simply put, civil claims seek money or a determination of rights. Some examples:

-- personal injury suits arising out of car accidents or slip-and-falls;

-- malpractice claims;

-- suits for wrongful discharge;

-- divorce and custody proceedings;

-- insurance coverage disputes.

The standard of proof is lower than in criminal cases, and may be by clear and convincing evidence or by a preponderance of the evidence.

Criminal law involves cases (charges) brought against an individual on behalf of all citizens of the state, because the offense alleged has violated the agreed-on social order or code of conduct, as reflected in the state code. The public, not the individual victim, is considered the aggrieved party entitled to seek justice. For that reason, a criminal case is brought not in the name of the victim, but in the name of society, as reflected in the case caption or name: The People of New York vs. Jackson, The Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Davis, or The State of Montana vs. Hammond.

Criminal sentences commonly involve time in custody or under supervision. For misdemeanors (defined by the state legislature) or nonviolent offenses, the sentence may be suspended or deferred. Options for convicted felons vary as well, although many states have statutory sentencing guidelines. A judge who sentences outside the guidelines is usually required to explain why. A convicted person may be ordered to pay restitution to the victim. In nearly every jurisdiction, jails (local facilities, most often filled with people waiting for trial or serving short sentences) and prisons (state facilities, sometimes run by private contractors) are often overcrowded. In response to overcrowding, and in the hope of designing a meaningful sentence when jail or prison time isn't appropriate, state court judges show great creativity. A Montana's court's sentence for a hunter who illegally poached a female moose and her calf included jail time, loss of hunting privileges for twenty years, restitution to the state Department of Wildlife, and book reports on ethics and hunting.

The standard of proof in criminal cases is the familiar beyond a reasonable doubt.

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction--justice court, city or municipal court, traffic court, small claims court. The names and duties vary, but the common feature is that their jurisdiction or scope is limited. Some courts, like traffic court, handle only cases involving that subject matter. Small claims courts handle claims up to a specific dollar amount. Other courts are limited to a particular geographic district. Not every locality has every kind of court. For example, in some places, small claims court and traffic court are separate systems, while in others, they are part of a larger justice court system. In Montana, the primary court of limited jurisdiction is called Justice Court and the judge, who is not required to be a lawyer, is called the Justice of the Peace. In Washington State, the same court is called a District Court, and all judges are lawyers. These courts and judges also handle some preliminary matters in felony criminal cases, including the initial appearance and arraignment. Margaret Maron's Judge Deborah Knott presides over a court of limited jurisdiction.

Courts of General Jurisdiction--the main state trial courts, the work horses. In Montana, it's the District Court, in Washington, the Superior Court, and in New York, the Supreme Court (a term most states reserve for the highest appellate court). As the name implies, these courts hear a broad range of cases, including both civil and criminal cases. They are typically organized by county, although one county may have multiple judges, or in less populated areas, one judge may serve several counties. These courts may also hear appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction.

Some states maintain separate civil and criminal courts. This allows judges and staff to specialize and stay current on just one set of court rules, statutes, and case law. In addition, criminal defendants are entitled by law to speedy trial, meaning they must be tried within a certain period of time. Crowded criminal dockets and the speedy trial rules often result in civil trials being bumped at the last minute. Court systems nationwide have instituted procedures designed to clear out backlogs, including mandatory mediation or arbitration for qualifying civil cases. Still, a civil case will typically take a year to get to trial, and if particularly complex, several years.

Other state courts--Some states maintain separate systems for:

-- juvenile or youth court, for criminal cases against minors;

-- family law courts, to deal with divorces and custody disputes;

-- probate;

-- workers' compensation.
These areas of the law often have their own rules and procedures. Specialized courts can meet the needs of litigants without the added pressure of the rest of the docket, or caseload.

A few creative programs are worth mentioning. The U.S. Dept of Justice provides grants to counties or districts who apply and are selected to establish Youth Drug Courts or Mental Health Courts. In a Mental Health Court program, for example, a trained coordinator works with a particular judge and staff to set up a system to identify persons charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies who have mental health problems. They then coordinate a treatment program under close judicial supervision, including frequent court appearances, that allows a judge to monitor the treatment and ensure that both individual and public needs are met, and sanction or punish when necessary. The goal is to ensure that offenders who are not a danger to others get treatment and stay out of prison, where treatment is not available and they may be further victimized.

Appellate Courts--Most states have two levels, an intermediate court commonly known as the Court of Appeals and divided by geographical divisions, and the highest court, or Supreme Court. (In New York, the intermediate court is called the Appellate Division and the highest court is called the Court of Appeals). Some smaller states, like Montana, have no intermediate court; the Supreme Court hears all appeals. In Texas, criminal appeals are heard by a separate Court of Criminal Appeal. By statute, some cases must be appealed directly to the highest court. Examples include death penalty cases or cases involving an issue on which past decisions of the Court of Appeals' various divisions conflict.

Relationship between state and U.S. Supreme Courts--A decision of a state's highest appellate court is final in most cases. A state's highest court is the final arbiter of issues involving that state's statutes and constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court is the final arbiter of issues involving federal statutes and the federal constitution. If a state court decides an issue turning on interpretation of the federal constitution, it must follow the law developed by the federal courts, and the case could ultimately land in the U.S. Supreme Court.

If you're unsure about the structure of the court system in the place you're writing about, call the Clerk of Court or a law school professor of civil or criminal procedure, or of trial practice. Or buy a judge a cup of coffee and ask away. The stories you hear will enrich both your writing and your understanding of the law.

The National Center for State Courts maintains a list of state, federal and international court web sites, law libraries, and other references at http://www.ncsconline.org/D_KIS/info_court_web_sites.html.

Next time: an overview of a trial.

A graduate of Notre Dame Law School, a former law clerk to the Washington State Court of Appeals, and a lawyer admitted in Washington and Montana, Leslie Budewitz is astonished to realize she's been out of law school twenty years. If you have a question about a legal issue in your fiction, see Law and Fiction: Services.

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