Law: Litigation and Civil Suits

Running head: REVIEW QUESTIONS 1

REVIEW QUESTIONS 5

Chapter one Review questions
1. Civil procedure is that body that has been given the obligation of setting the rules and the standards with which the courts follow when they are arbitrating law suits. Criminal procedure on the other hand is the process that is followed in enforcing a criminal law from the investigation stage to the court proceedings and finally the verdict (Lahav, 2016).
2. The substantive law is the law that is passed by a legislature and it dictates how people should carry themselves and the procedural la ensures that all the rules are followed during a proceeding and it is also responsible for governing the way that legal cases flow. The two are important in that they ensure that the correct proceedings are followed in the enforcement of criminal law (Nelson, 2016).
3. The pleading is the first step in a litigation process and this is where the party’s in each side explain their side of the dispute. The second step is discovery where the parties gather relevant information from each other and also from the third parties who are witnesses (Freer, 2016). The third step is the trial where the parties present their evidence that supports their defences in the court and the verdict is given. The last step is the appeal where the party that is satisfied with the verdict given during the trial ask for the review of the trial by a higher court (Freer, 2016).
4. There are about five common types of civil law suits and they include; contract disputes, class action matters, car accidents, complaints against a city and property disputes (Nelson, 2016).
5. Some of the alternatives to litigation include; mediation, arbitration, partial stipulations and lastly contract provisions like arbitrary clause where a paragraph stating that any controversy between the parties will be resolved through the interpretation of the contract (Freer, 2016).
6. The primary sources for finding the law of civil litigation include; case reporters, code books and constitution while the secondary sources include; legal encyclopedias and periodicals, textbooks and form books (Nelson, 2016).
7. Technology is used in litigation where software has been designed for the legal fields to help find evidence and in other matters that are important for the lawyers and the court (Freer, 2016).
8. The paralegals job include; interviewing clients and the witnesses, gathering evidence, preparing pleadings and motions, conducting factual and legal research and preparing pleadings and motions (Nelson, 2016).
9. The litigation paralegals should have good communication skills both oral and in writing, have some computer skills and they should also have good organizational and analytical skills in order to be able to conduct legal research that is important in criminal law (Freer, 2016).
10. The success of a paralegal comes easy when they have been availed with important provisions such as personal files and the training manuals (Nelson, 2016).
Chapter two review questions
1. The purpose of the trial courts in a litigation process is to define the actualities of the disputes and to apply the suitable legal moralities, while the court of appeals on the other side role is to assess the events in the trial court (Court system in the United States, 2016).
2. There are three levels of courts in the federal court system that include; the U.S district court that include the trial courts and it is where the case is first heard, the U.S court of appeals, and U.S Supreme Court that are termed to be courts that review the case further (Lahav, 2016).
3. The state court system is divided into trial courts and the court of appeals; there is also the Supreme Court which is the highest legal system within the state (Lahav, 2016).
4. Subject matter jurisdiction is the power that a court has to listen to cases of a certain kind or relating to certain matter before they come up with their judgement (Lahav, 2016).
5. The federal court deals with cases that raise federal questions for instance those that involve the government. it also deals with the case that involve disputes between two parties that are not from the same state and it also deals with cases that affect the state’s standing with other states for instance matters of treaties (Court system in the United States, 2016).
6. In an exclusive jurisdiction, only one of the court either the federal or the state has the chance to hear a case but not both of them. On the other hand in a concurrent jurisdiction, the federal and the state courts both have the chance to hear a case and give their opinions (Court system in the United States, 2016).
7. The court has personal jurisdiction over a party if the defendant voluntarily agrees to submit to the court’s jurisdiction or over those who live within the state where the court is located. The court can also have personal jurisdiction if the defendant does not reside within the state if he has some contacts with the state and they are authorized by the state law (Court system in the United States, 2016).
8. States have long-arm statutes to help deal with the implementation of personal jurisdiction over non-residents defendants (Lahav, 2016).
9. Personal jurisdiction happens when the defendant resides within the state where the court is located or if the defendant though not residing within the state has some substantial contacts with the state. On the other hand, in rem jurisdiction exists when the subject matter of the law suit involves property that is located in a state (Court system in the United States, 2016).
10. Venue is the selection of the court in which a case will be presided, this can be determined in regard to the place where the defendant resides. The venue is important in order for a court to initiate a lawsuit, the venue can however be changed depending on the interest of justice (Court system in the United States, 2016).

References
Court system in the United States. (2016). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1-
2.
Lahav, A. D. (2016). THE ROLES OF LITIGATION IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.
Emory Law Journal, 65(6), 1657-1704.
Freer, R. D. (2016). EXODUS FROM AND TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN CIVIL
LITIGATION. Emory Law Journal, 65(6), 1491-1530.
Nelson, C. (2016). The Constitutionality of Civil Forfeiture. Yale Law Journal, 125(8), 2446-
2518.