Civil and Criminal Procedure

Posted: May 5th, 2020

Civil and Criminal Procedure

Instructions
Review the resource materials listed below and write an essay on the three topics: Civil Rights Cases, Pre-Trial Procedure and Trial Proceedings. You are also free to do your own research to write this essay.

Civil Rights Cases

Let’s take a look a some civil rights cases. Remember these were civil cases that went to trial and in many cases would up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Civil Rights and Equal Protection

Pre-Trial Procedures in Civil Rights Case

Video on Motion in civil rights proceeding:

https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/usa-v-secretary-florida-dept-corrections-and-florida-dept-corrections. This video is very long. Please review at least the first half hour to get a sense for this Pre-Trial proceeding

Trial Proceedings

https://blog.cvn.com/the-can-do-group-how-one-courts-team-pulled-off-a-landmark-remote-jury-trial-during-coronavirus-shutdown

https://pages.cvn.com/duval-county-florida-remote-trial-program Review at least one of the offerings such as Day 1 trial. They are long so it is not necessary to do all of them but viewing at least an hour would be a good choice.

Remember that you can use any of these listed resources or use supplemental research

Civil Rights Case
The case of Brown v Board of Education of Topeka,1954 is a landmark case highlighting on the issue of segregation and racial discrimination and what amounts to breach of the 14th Amendment. In this case families/communities of black students sued for limitation and denial of equal schools. The black students were not allowed to study together or close to schools of white students. The court identified the issue as violation of 14th Amendment, which was letter amended to provide for equality for all citizens.
The Supreme Court dealt with the case by issuing two comprehensive opinions and a judgement thereto. That the validity and or constitutionality of public schools in the circumstance was unfound. In the majority submission they indicated that public schools were meant for the blacks however, there was no statutory provision of the same. The court offered an opinion that the same amounted to gross violation of civil rights. Hence schools were tasked with the duty to strongly avert segregation acts and also take accountability in case such cases.

Pre-Trial Procedures in Civil Rights Cases
The case of USA v Secretary Florida Department of Corrections offers the essential guidelines of trial procedures and procedure that are vital before the main hearing of a case. We see the hearing of the notice of motion to grant injection to the plaintiff before hearing of the main suit shows part of the procedures to be performed. With the video illustration of the southern District of Florida court, the plaintiff may choose to withdraw part of their claim/complaint or even the entire suit. That the same is done by support of a notice of motion filed in court. The defendant may bargain or compromise with the with the plaintiff on specific terms. The civil procedure rules provide that such a bargain should not be done under duress to the plaintiff or parties thereto. Significantly, parties may resort to settle the matter out of court upon agreement and the court must take record of the same incase parties fail to reach at an agreement (Crisco, 2020).
Trial Proceedings
The case of Griffin v. Albanese Enterprise Inc, explains the trial procedure or proceedings issued during the stage. The first and common phase of the proceedings is choosing a Jury. The Selection of a jury is mandatory, save for rare and unique cases that are heard by the Judge only. The judge and a representative of the defendant and the plaintiff engage potential jurors to establish mandatory questions and procedures before selection of a jury. After a jury is procedurally selected the first dialogue comes from the defense and prosecution.
After the opening statements the prosecution presents its factors, and the jury guides the submission both from the defense and prosecution. A Witness testimony is allowed and there after the process of cross examination of the witnesses and the accused is initiated. It is important to acknowledge that leading questions are not allowed at this point so as to allow parties make their own right decision or testimony. It is a statutory provision that parties witnessing or giving testimonies must do it under oath. After the closing arguments from both sides, it is vital for the parties to issue their prayers or make a summary to the court at this stage. Finally, the jury will issue instructions on judgement.

Reference
Crisco, A. (2020, August 28). The “can-do group:” How one court pulled off a landmark remote jury trial during Covid shutdown. CVN News. https://blog.cvn.com/the-can-do-group-how-one-courts-team-pulled-off-a-landmark-remote-jury-trial-during-coronavirus-shutdown