Under what circumstances do civil cases go before juries in the U.S.? In a criminal case, per Rule 23, either party may demand a jury trial (and the defendant usually does). A civil case, however, is often decided by a "bench" (judge) trial. Under what circumstances is a civil case likely to go to a jury trial, and under what circumstances can a party either demand, or prevent a jury trial (aside from a contract where both parties waive their rights to a jury trial)?
A civil case, however, is often decided by a &quot;bench&quot; (judge) trial. Under what circumstances is a civil case likely to go to a jury trial, and under what circumstances can a party either demand, or prevent a jury trial (aside from a contract where both parties waive their rights to a jury trial)? In federal court, there is a right to a jury trial in cases where the complaint is predominantly based on a &quot;legal&quot; as opposed to an &quot;equitable&quot; theory (roughly speaking claims for money damages v. claims for injunctive relief, but actually based upon historical practice in 18th century England with some select historical exceptions), if the plaintiff demands one with the filing of the Complaint and pays a jury fee, or if the defendant demands one with or shortly after filing an Answer and pays a jury fee, under the 7th Amendment to the United States Constitution and related civil procedure rules. Pre- and post-dispute contractual waivers of the right to a jury trial are allowed in most matters (although jury waivers are not allowed for a few kinds of statutory claims)1, and of course, one could also waive not just the right to a civil jury trial, but also a right to court system based dispute resolution with a valid arbitration clause. Many kinds of contracts like promissory notes and written leases, routinely include a jury trial waiver. Other kinds of contracts (e.g. cell phone contracts, bank customer agreements, and securities broker engagement agreements) routinely contain arbitration clauses. 1 The states of California and Georgia are exceptions to the general rule that contractual pre-dispute jury trial waivers are valid. A non-exclusive list of common cases where there is a right to a jury trial (in the absence of a contractual waiver of this right) include: Breach of contract Damages claims for breach of a lease Common law tort claims such as negligence, nuisance, defamation and fraud Civil rights and discrimination claims seeking money damages Patent and copyright infringement cases seeking money damages Non-preliminary claims to recover tangible personal property Will contests Termination of parental rights Eminent domain just compensation hearings The vast majority of personal injury claims are brought are common law negligence tort cases. A non-exclusive list of common cases where there is not a right to a jury trial include: Foreclosure of liens and mortgages Receiverships Core bankruptcy matters (but PI claims in bankruptcy get a jury trial) Dissolution of marriage, legal separation and annulments Child custody Adoption and paternity actions Change of name petitions Municipal or special district incorporation or annexation petitions Probate matters other than will contests (e.g. guardianship and custodianship and trust cases). Claims to reform written instruments Claims to invalidate contracts on equitable grounds (e.g. mistake) Fraudulent transfer lawsuits (even if for money damages) Disputes involving management of a corporation Suits seeking principally injunctive relief other than recovery of tangible personal property Quiet title cases involving real estate Preliminary relief in the nature of eviction, attachment, or preliminary recovery of tangible personal property pending a determination on the merits Juvenile delinquency cases Hearings on the right to bring an eminent domain proceeding Court of claims suits for money damages against a governmental entity Suits seeking to declare a statute unconstitutional or invalid Actions to invoke, assist, or enforce an arbitration clause Election law disputes not predominantly seeking money damages Partition cases (to divide or sell co-owned real estate) Cases seeking an accounting (e.g. between partners in a partnership) Tax refund lawsuits (Phillips v. Commissioner , 283 U.S. 589 (1931); Franchise Tax Bd. v. Superior Court, 2011 WL 2177248 (Cal., June 6, 2011)). The nature of counterclaims asserted is irrelevant to the jury trial right in federal court. But, in federal court, the case can be dismissed pursuant to a FRCP 12 motion to dismiss or for judgment on the pleadings (basically for jurisdictional reasons or for failure to state a plausible claim upon which relief can be granted), or can be resolved because all of the claims that give rise to the jury trial can be resolved as a matter of law based upon undisputed facts stated in affidavits under FRCP 56 (motion for summary judgment), or can be dismissed as a discovery sanction pursuant to FRCP 37, or can be dismissed due to a settlement reached by the parties pursuant to FRCP 41, or can be dismissed for failure to prosecute. If a jury is properly demanded and is not dismissed before trial, then the case will proceed to a trial by jury, but the jury will decide only &quot;legal&quot; claims in the case while the judge will decide any &quot;equitable&quot; claims in the case, when there is a jury trial. In most U.S. states and territories (other than Louisiana, Commonwealth court cases Puerto Rico and territorial court cases in American Samoa) which have civil legal systems based upon the French, Spanish and German legal systems respectively), the right to a civil jury trial is essentially the same, but arises under a state constitution, a state law, or a state court rule, since the 7th Amendment does not apply to state court proceedings. But, jury trials are often prohibited is small claims court cases. In actual practice, civil jury trials are quite rare (and have grown much more rare in both state and federal court over the last several decades). About 75% of civil jury trials involve personal injury tort causes, civil rights cases, or fraud. There is a right to a jury trial in contract cases (although many contracts contain pre-dispute waivers of the right to a jury trial), but it is much less common for either party to demand a jury trial in a breach of contract case that does not involve fraud than it is in tort or civil rights cases are involved. A jury is demanded is almost every case in which part of the damages sought include non-economic damages (e.g. pain and suffering, or emotional distress), or exemplary damages (i.e. punitive damages) are sought. For example, here is a breakdown of bench and jury trials held in 2005 in Colorado in state and federal court combined based upon their respective annual reports (which is fairly typical although jury trials were slightly less common across the board in 2016): Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Cases Infraction Final Hearings 8764 Traffic Trial To Court 187 (33%) Misdemeanor Trial To Court 298 (31%) Juvenile Trial To Court 281 (Delinquency and Parental Rights Terminations) (89%) District Court Criminal Trial To Court 28 (Mostly Felonies) (3%) Federal District Court Criminal Trial To Court 15* (41%) Subtotal: 809 (excludes infractions) (29%) Traffic Jury Trial 386 Misdemeanor Jury Trial 651 Juvenile Jury Trial 35 (Parental Rights Terminations) District Court Criminal Jury Trial 857 (Mostly Felonies) Federal District Court Criminal Jury Trial 22 Subtotal: 1,951 Criminal and quasi-criminal jury trials make up about 85% of all jury trials in Colorado. Civil Cases Civil Cases Small Claims Trial To Court 3,485 (100%) County Court Civil Trial To Court 1,236 (99%) District Court Civil Trial To Court 280 (50%) Evidentiary Federal Magistrate Civil Hearings 9 (100%) Evidentiary Federal Magistrate Prisoner's Case Hearings 7 (100%) Federal District Court Civil Trial To Court 36* (46%) Subtotal: 5,053 (94%) County Court Civil Jury Trial 17 District Court Civil Jury Trial 277 Federal District Court Civil Jury Trial 43 Subtotal: 337 Civil jury trials make up about 15% of all jury trials in Colorado In national statistics, about three-quarters of general jurisdiction state trial court jury trials are in personal injury cases. The available data makes it impossible to determine if this is true in Colorado, although there is no reason to think that Colorado is atypical in this regard. If Colorado is typical, about 95% of jury trials in Colorado are for criminal, quasi-criminal or personal injury cases, while all other cases account for about 5% of jury trials. Excludes 30 pre-trial evidentiary hearings and 7 evidentiary sentencing hearings. ** Excludes 36 evidentiary hearings in preliminary matters and motions, etc. In Colorado, small claims cases are up to $7,500 and county court has a $15,000 jurisdictional threshold. There is no dollar limit on federal question cases in federal court but diversity cases in federal court must have $75,000 or more in controversy. As the statistics above illustrate, a significant minority of criminal cases are tried in bench trials. About 3% of state felony trials are bench trials (the federal court data includes both bench trials in federal misdemeanor cases and bench trials in federal felony trials). About 30% of misdemeanor trials are bench trials rather than jury trials. More than 95% of civil cases in both state and federal courts, and more than 95% federal criminal cases are resolved by default, dismissal on motion, voluntary dismissal, or settlement before trial. About 80%-90% of state criminal cases are plea bargained and therefore do not go to trial. Federal civil cases are proportionately more likely to go to a jury trial than state general jurisdiction court civil cases.
Could the person on the stand refuse? Yes. The witness may refuse to read it aloud, which does not mean he cannot be compelled to do so. The witness may object on grounds you mention (prejudice) only if he is the defendant. Either way, the judge will make a decision on how that evidence is to be presented to the jury. Regardless of who reads the evidence, the witness may be ordered to answer the question of whether or not he authored that document. Defying that order could result in contempt of court or, depending on the context, the entry of an adverse inference.
In the United States, the constitutionality of a law can be challenged in any court. Unless and until the court is reversed by a higher court, then the law will be considered unconstitutional and invalid. A jury can also theoretically nullify a law for any reason, including unconstitutionality, however, the jury's finding will only hold for that one case that they are trying.
Carl may not do this, as he would be prohibited from making this argument at trial. At trial, evidence must be relevant, meaning that it makes a fact of consequence more or less likely to be true. Because the trial is meant to determine whether Carl is or is not guilty, his promises of future philanthropy have no bearing on the matter. And even if they somehow did, Carl still would not be able to tell the jury about them because they would be blocked under Rule 403, which excludes evidence because its probative value is substantially outweighed by its risk of biasing or confusing the jury. If Carl attempts to make these statements anyway, he risks a mistrial, which means he has to start over with with a new jury. In some jurisdictions, Carl may, however, be permitted to make this argument during the sentencing phase, where the court can properly consider the societal effects of whatever punishment it imposes. At this point, though, it's obviously a little late for Carl, as it presumes he has been convicted.
The jury never finds there was “no crime” They either find that the state has proven that this particular defendant committed this particular crime (guilty) or they have not proven it (not guilty). Another jury at another time may find the opposite - this does sometimes happen where a guilty verdict is appealed and the appeals court orders a retrial. For another defendant charged with a different crime (e.g. accessory to the first crime) before another jury, the result of another trial is both irrelevant and inadmissible.
Are there cases or situations where both parties are burdened with justifying their positions? england-and-wales Yes, but different standards are applied. One example is the &quot;reverse burden of proof&quot; placed on the defendant in section 1(1) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953: Any person who without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, the proof whereof shall lie on him, has with him in any public place any offensive weapon shall be guilty of an offence... The prosecution have to prove &quot;beyond a reasonable doubt&quot; that the article is actually an offensive weapon and that the named defendant possessed it on a particular date and that s/he was in a public place at the time. Whereas the standard of proof for the defendant to show they had lawful authority or a reasonable excuse for having is the, lower, &quot;balance of probabilities&quot;. Similar legislation, for a similar offence, at section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 states that: (4)It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had good reason or lawful authority for having the article with him in a public place. (5)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4) above, it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had the article with him— (a)for use at work; (b)for religious reasons; or (c)as part of any national costume. Which, again, is on the balance of probabilities. See, for example, R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37: If [a legal burden of proof on an accused] is created the matter in question must be taken as proved against the accused unless he satisfies the jury on a balance of probabilities to the contrary...
People are routinely and almost universally defended by lawyers in serious criminal cases in both civil law country and common law country legal systems. The availability of counsel for the indigent in cases involving petty crimes varies, but not in a way systemically related to the common law v. civil law distinction. It has more to do with the available supply of lawyers. The lawyer's job isn't very different, despite the fact that the lawyer has an audience of a panel of judges rather than a judge presiding over a decision making jury, although obviously lots of fine details (e.g. concerning the procedures for presenting evidence) are different. In both cases, defense lawyers call the attention to the facts favorable to the defendant's case, offer up evidence that tends to exonerate the defendant if the lawyer can obtain it, argues to the court regarding how the evidence should be interpreted and what inferences should be drawn from it, and argues regarding any ambiguities in how the law should be applied to these particular facts. Furthermore, in most criminal cases, in both civil law countries and in common law countries, guilt or innocence is not the primary issue. The primary issue for criminal defense counsel in most cases is assisting the judges in determining the right sentencing option on the right charges for a defendant who pleads guilty or is found guilty at trial of some crime, based upon the character of the crime and offender that is presented to the court by the lawyer. This part of the process is very similar indeed in the two systems. Typical issues might include an assault case where the issue is whether there was serious bodily injury, justifying a more serious sentence, or mere ordinary bodily injury, justifying only a less serious sentence, in a case where it isn't clear cut at the guilt and innocence phase, or arguing whether probation and a fine, or incarceration is a better fit to a minor offense, in the sentencing phase. It isn't entirely or primarily about &quot;legal loopholes&quot; in any system, although &quot;legal loopholes&quot; tend to be more important in U.S. criminal law than in many legal systems. There are some places in which civil law courts are more open to consider a defendant's arguments than others (and many civil law countries decide serious criminal cases with a panel that is a mix of legally trained judges and lay jurors), but that can vary wildly from country to country and within a country as well.
Generally speaking, ex parte communications with a judge (i.e. communications to which all parties to a case are not notified) are prohibited, both by law and as a matter of judicial and attorney ethics, subject to some narrow exceptions (e.g. applications for arrest warrants prior to the arrest warrant being carried out). Generally speaking, communications with the court (which is to say with judges or their subordinates) are made a matter of public record, and if the communication is about a particular case, all attorneys in the case must be given notice of it (if someone is not represented by an attorney, the notice goes to the defendant rather than their non-existent attorney). The attorney may then communicate the communication to their client, and generally speaking should communicate it to the client. I don't see anything in the question that suggests that this proposed communication would fall outside the general rule. But, the question isn't very specific and I wouldn't rule out the possibility that an exception might apply in a case with very unusual facts. Also, usually, a request to reconsider a sentence has to be made by a formal motion filed by the prosecutor or the defendant. Generally speaking, a third-party cannot file that motion unilaterally. A third-party or victim would usually only have input into the decision through the prosecutor's office. Third parties and victims are not generally permitted to file motions to reconsider sentences that have been imposed even in states with "victim's rights" statutes, but can publicly provide input to the court before a sentence is imposed, usually at the behest of either the prosecutor or the defendant. Furthermore, generally a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to not have a sentence made more severe after being sentenced the first time around. Reconsideration of a sentence once it is imposed may only be in the direction of leniency. Once a sentence is imposed, it can't be reconsidered to be made more harsh.