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In most common law jurisdictions, the trial court often sits with a jury and one judge; in such jury trials, the jury acts as trier of fact. In some cases, the judge or judges act as triers of both fact and law, by either statute, custom, or agreement of the parties; this is referred to as a bench trial.
Administrative law judges may be employed by a "central panel" organization, which provides the judges with independence from agencies. [6] The California Administrative Procedure Act created an early central panel in 1945, and it served as a model for other states. [6] By 2015, over half of states had created such panels. [7]
A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a jury. [1] The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems ( Roman , Islamic ) use bench trials for most or all cases or for certain types of cases.
Typically, if the chief judge is a member of the panel, that person will chair the panel and call hearings to order; if the chief judge is not on the panel, this duty falls to the senior-most judge. Following oral arguments, the judges will meet briefly to confer and determine what the likely majority opinion in the case will be.
On June 9, 2023, Texas' governor signed an Act into law creating a trial level business court, as well as the first appellate level business court in the United States. The new law became effective in September 2023. [6] [7] [8] On June 28, 2024, the Texas Supreme Court approved rules of procedure for the new Business Court. [9]
The Texas Supreme Court Building. Texas is the only state besides Oklahoma to have a bifurcated appellate system at the highest level. [4] The Texas Supreme Court hears appeals involving civil matters (which include juvenile cases), and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hears appeals involving criminal matters. [4]
An appellate court may also review the lower judge's discretionary decisions, such as whether the judge properly granted a new trial or disallowed evidence. The lower court's decision is only changed in cases of an "abuse of discretion". This standard tends to be even more deferential than the "clear error" standard.
U.S. states often provide their state trial courts with general jurisdiction. The Legal Information Institute notes that "often, states will vest their trial courts with general jurisdiction" [1] – with the ability to hear state and federal matters in law and in equity, although these courts may also organize themselves into divisions or departments to handle particular matters (eg., by ...