Chapter One- The Rule of Law

This chapter gives an introduction to the rule of law and how journalists make sense of it in a society with changing communication processes. Before digging into the court systems and laws, one needs to first understand that individuals and society both benefit when a such a system of laws is adopted and practiced. A system will “promote a balance between gain and loss, between cost and benefit, and between personal desires and universal concerns (Trager, Robert, et al.).” In the United States, our rules of law are meant to restrict the actions of citizens and governments to ensure that everyone receives fair treatment. Laws need to be written clearly for citizens and law enforcers to have no confusion when a debate arises.

United States Court System 

Two main court systems:

• Federal
  • U.S. District Courts–U.S. Courts of Appeals–Supreme Court
• State
  • County–Special–Superior–Court of Appeals–State Supreme Court

Levels of court:

• Trial
  • lowest level where all cases begin
  • only courts to use juries
  • total of 94 in the nation
• Intermediate Appellate Courts
  • when someone loses a trial cases, they can appeal the decision here
  • 13 courts called circuit courts
  • appellate courts have many options on what to do with an appeal
    • affirm, overrule, remand
• U.S. Supreme Court
  • also an appellate court if a case gets appealed from federal court
    • cases can also come on direct appeal from lower courts or through writ of certiorari
      • petition for case review directly by the Supreme Court
  • made up of a chief justice and eight associate justices who are appointed for life
  • judicial review
    • “the power of courts to determine the meaning of the language of the Constitution and to assure that now laws violate constitutional dictates” (Trager, et al.)
    • all courts can use judicial review but the power is used sparingly

Sources of Law 

Six Sources:

• Constitutions
  • federal and state levels
  • establish the structure of government and limit the authority
  • the United States Constitution is the supreme law for the nation
  • hard to make changes to
• Statutes
  • laws that deal with social problems
  • examples- all criminal laws & laws for copyright, broadcast, and advertisements
  • have to be extremely specific to ensure the law is universally understood
    • “statutes are difficult to interpret when they fail to define key terms” (Trager et al.)
    • courts go by the facial meaning of the law
• Equity Law
  • made by judges rather than legislatures
  • want to provide fair treatment in cases that are hard to follow the strict rules of law
  • more flexible than common law and do not need a precedent
• Common Law
  • created by judges
  • laws developed through custom and precedent
  • believes precedent should guide future decisions
  • all courts must follow precedents under the supreme court and also precedents from their own state appellate court down to the lower state court
    • however, courts from different jurisdictions do not need to follow precedents from other courts
      • often followed to avoid conflict however
  • precedents can be modified to fit the needs of society
    • example- laws had to be modified when paper records were being changed to online to protect privacy
• Administrative Rules
  • a rule made by an administrative agency
  • states have their own set up these rules passed by state legislatures
• Executive Orders
  • rule issued by the heads of the executive branch of a government
    • usually the president but can include governors and mayors
  • have the force of law
  • example- each president gets to issue an executive order that determines what records will be kept secret
  • recent orders have limited what the media can cover in military zones

Case Process 

How a case works:

• starts when a government agency depicts a crime is happening
• evidence has to be collected and a person can be arrested by probable cause
• a case then goes in front of a judge or grand jury
  • grand jury does not determine guilt like a trial jury would; they determine whether the evidence shows probable cause
• if probable cause is proven, the person is indicted; if not, the case stops
• the case moves to an arraignment where the defendant pleads guilty or not guilty
  • plea bargains are very common (95%) for defendant who plead guilty
• not guilty pleas by the defendant are put on trial
• upon verdict of the jury trial, the defendant will have time in jail/prison and/or fines
• Civil Suits
  • involve two parties who cannot settle a dispute by themselves and action to court
    • plaintiff- the party who sues; most seek money damages
    • defendant- the part accused
  • a complaint is filed by the plaintiff against the defendant showing that the defendant acted wrongly in some way
  • the complaint is then followed by a hearing in which the defendant is summoned
  • the defendant can file a countersuit as a motion to dismiss
    • reject the complaint made by the plaintiff
    • example- a media defendant admitting to publishing a story but claiming that the story does not in any way harm the plaintiff
  • if a countersuit is granted, the plaintiff can appeal
  • in building a case, the court may use discovery and subpoena
    • discovery is the process of gathering more evidence and facts
    • subpoena is the command for someone to testify in court
  • as a case is built, parties may come to a settlement which happens 97% of the time
  • if no settlement is made, the case moves to a jury trial
    • juries are selected randomly and then made sure no one on the trial would be impartial to a party
  • the jury decides the verdict of the case
    • the judge will the decide if the jury cannot make a decision and also has the power to overturn the jury decision
  • if the plaintiff wins, he is awarded the damages listed
    • the plaintiff and the defendant can both make claims to appeal a decision
    • the appeal could take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars
  • Summary Judgement
    • the process without the full trial

This chapter ends with some suggestions for added reading and other useful resources for the law and journalism. The end also tells students how to successfully read a case using three steps–pre-reading, skimming, and close reading. Case briefing also clarifies the main points of court decisions.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Trager, Robert, et al. The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication. CQ Press, 2016.