Crime and Court American Government

Adversary System Adversary System Presumption of Innocence An adversary system is a judicial system in which opposing lawyers present their strongest cases Presumption of Innocence In the United States our legal system is based on the presumption that you are innocent until proven guilty The burden of proof is on the prosecution. The prosecution must prove your guilt, you do not have to prove your innocence

Types of Law In the United States we deal with two basic types of law Criminal law deals with individuals who have violated specific laws Civil law deals with multiple parties over a wide range of matters This matters include property ownership Divorce Child custody Mergers, Personal property damage

Statutes A statute is a law that is written down so that everyone might know and understand it. Statutes are sometimes referred to as “roman laws” because they are based on an approach to making laws derived from the ancient Romans A statute is a law written by a legislative branch of government Statutes: Limit citizens behavior Specify rules for inspecting food Set minimum ages for work permits Set rules for social security Establish and manage veteran’s hospitals Set rules for drivers licenses, Set rules for check credit Set rules for returning merchandise Etc.

Common Law Common law is the single most important basis of the American legal system Common law is created by judges in the process of resolving individual cases. Common law is based upon precedents. A precedent is a decision made in previous cases that can be applied to future cases regarding the same types of content The origin of precedents stems from the term stare decisis, or “let the decision stand”. Generally precedents are used to determine the action that will be taken by a court when they hear a case

Cogs and Gears Equal Justice: Due Process: Equal justice under the 14th amendment forbids any state to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law” This means that state and local governments cannot draw unreasonable distinctions among different groups of people Due Process: This is the principle in the 5th amendment stating that the government must follow proper Constitutional procedures in trials and in other actions it takes against individuals.

Constitutional Liberties Bills of Attainder: A Bill of Attainder is a legislative act pronouncing a person guilty of a crime, usually treason, without trial and subjecting that person to capital punishment and attainder. Such acts are prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. Ex-Post Facto: Ex-Post Facto is when a legislative body tries to retroactively punish you for an act that was recently made a crime This is illegal