city, county, state, federal

city council, commissioners court, the legislature, Congress

The Texas Legislature - 150 in the House, 31 in the Senate
The U.S. Congress - 435 in the House, 100 in the Senate

Be sure you know who your Congressperson is.
And be sure you know who the U.S. Senators from Texas are.

Since 2000, Texas has 32 seats in the U.S. Congress.
The allocation changes every 10 years. Why? How?

The governing body of the city is the city council.
Cities have either the strong mayor system or the city manager system.
Houston has a strong mayor system, Dallas a city manager system.
The city council passes ordinances.
They are enforced by the police department.
City courts are called municipal courts.

The counties in Texas run everything else.
Especially, the court system.
Each county has the same basic structure.
Texas has 254 counties.
Each is governed by a Commissioners Court.
The court has a county judge and four commissioners.

The county provides for the court structure.
The sheriff is the chief police official in the county.

By way of introduction, the common law: how it originated and its significance today.
The difference in criminal and civil law in this context.

The lowest court in the county is the justice of the peace.
Each county has eight justice of the peace precincts.
In larger counties, such as Harris, each precinct has two justices.
Each precinct has one constable.

Misdemeanors are tried in county courts.
In larger counties, these are county courts at law.
Six persons are on the jury.
Misdemeanors are divided into three categories: A, B, C.
Those convicted of misdemeanors serve time in the county jail.
Generally, the terms aren't greater than one year.

Felonies are tried in district court.
Those convicted serve time in the state prison system.
The classifications of felonies are first, second and third degree.

Also, a classification of felonies is state jail felonies.
And capital offences.
Juveniles may be tried as adults at the age of 17.

The criminal process begins with the arrest.
And the filing of a complaint.

In large counties, misdemeanors are handled by the district attorney's office and are refiled there before going to trial.
In refiling, the complaint becomes an information.
Misdemeanors are tried in county courts.
In smaller counties, county attorneys handle misdemeanors.
In large counties, county courts are called county courts at law.

Felonies must go before a grand jury, which returns an indictment or a no bill. Trials are in district court.

Six persons are on county court juries, 12 on district court juries.
There is a jury in a criminal case; the punishment, which is separate, may be by either the judge or the jury.

Civil law is based on common law, including decisions that set precedent by appellate courts. Civil procedure begins with the filing of a petition, or a suit. The party filing the original petition is the plaintiff. The party being sued is the defendant.

Whereas in criminal cases, the question is guilt or innocence, in civil cases the question is for the plaintiff or for the defendant.

A civil case is concerned with a redress of grievances.
Usually this involves money. Damages are economic and punitive.
If the amount in question is more than $5,000, the trial will be in district court.

The standard of evidence is different in civil and criminal cases.
In criminal cases, it's beyond a reasonable doubt.
In civil cases, it's a preponderance of evidence.

Juries in criminal cases must be unanimous.
In civil cases, a 10-2 vote is sufficient.

An important part of civil cases is what goes on before the trial.
This starts with interrogatories and depositions.
All parties, including expert witnesses, may be deposed.
This is the point at which the issues in the case are narrowed.

A civil case may go to mediation or arbitration.
A high percentage of civil cases are settled before going to trial.

As a result of legislative action and Proposition 12, damages for "pain and suffering" in Texas are restricted to $750,000.

The first step in the appellate process is the court of appeals.
Texas has 14 courts of appeal.

The state may not appeal a criminal case.
Either party may appeal a civil case.

After the case goes through the court of appeals, civil cases go to the Supreme Court of Texas; criminal cases go to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Federal courts handle both civil and criminal matters.

Criminal matters are violations of federal law.
Upon arrest, the accused is arraigned before a U.S. magistrate.
The case then goes before a federal grand jury.
The grand jury may also conduct investigations, which may result in indictments.
The government's representative in these matters is the United States attorney. Each federal district has a U.S. attorney.
Texas has four districts: northern, eastern, southern, western.
Houston is in the southern district.

Any criminal offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year is a felony. Any other offense is a misdemeanor.

Civil matters arise in one of these ways:
1. Someone sues the government.
2. The government sues someone.
3. A citizen of one state sues a citizen of another.
4. Redress of grievances is sought based on federal or constitutional safeguards.
5. Bankruptcy.

The federal process involves district courts, courts of appeal and the United States Supreme Court.
Texas is in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, along with Louisiana and Mississippi.
All judges and justices in the federal system are appointed.

Cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court affect all courts throughout the nation. When these cases establish significant precedents they are called landmark cases.

Here are examples of landmark cases:
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 1896
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 1954
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 1966
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 1965
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 1973

Where to find these cases? The best site is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.

Don't use terms such as allegedly, reportedly, etc.
They don't provide any safeguard against defamation.
The key in reporting on criminal matters is attribution.
Attribute actions to the police or to judicial authorities.
Be especially careful not to tie the suspect to the crime.

The most important concept here is privilege.
See the definition of privilege in the section on libel in Law and the Media in Texas.

The documents filed in a civil case aren't privileged until they become part of the trial. This doesn't mean they can't be reported. It means they have to be reported carefully.

Other observations:
Note the distinction in jail and prison.
No one in a civil case is guilty.

Note the difference in robbery and burglary.
And what assault consists of.

A civil suit can be filed about anything.
Whether it may proceed is another question.
Original petitions, also called pleadings, may be amended.

In a civil case, either side may request a jury.
A jury must hear a criminal case.

A felon is a person who serves time in prison.

Other courts in Texas are juvenile, family and probate courts.

The original federal Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1967 and was amended in 1974.

The Electronic Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1996.

Note especially the language that introduces the act.

What is covered?

Of special interest: what law enforcement information is available?

What is the intent of the Open Meetings Law?

Under what conditions can public bodies hold closed sessions?

What are universities required to do under this act?

The Supreme Court cases that determined this issue.

Citizens, reporters and photographers are required to reveal information. Who would be allowed to withhold information?

The question is, to what extent can police search newsrooms?

Are college newsrooms included?

Before 1976, a copyright covered 28 years and could be renewed for 28 years. Therefore, something would have to be older than 1920 for you to be sure that it is in the public domain.

The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 extends copyright protection to the life of the owner and 70 years.

Corporate works were extended even further.

Questions related to copyright:

What purpose does copyright serve?

What are the legal and ethical issues are involved in copyright?

What kinds of things should you be most careful of?

What is fair use?

What is the purpose of fair use?

How old would something have to be to be in the public domain?

Copyright information is available on line at www.loc.gov/copyright.

This federal law requires colleges and universities to reveal information on crimes committed on their campuses. The information must be readily available and statistics must be published every year on the schools' web sites.

The act, passed in 1990, was originally known as the Student Right-to-Know Act. It was amended and renamed in 1998 as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

Jeanne Ann Clery was raped and killed in a dormitory room at Lehigh University in 1986. Her parents pushed for the passage of the law.

The law is tied to the federal student aid program and therefore applies to most colleges and universities, public and private. Schools that fail to comply with the law can be penalized up to $25,000 for each violation and face loss of federal funds. The law is administered by the United States Department of Education.

Information about the act may be found at http://www.securityoncampus.org/ and Clery Act at University of Houston