Inlaw,atrialis a coming together ofpartiesto adispute,to present information (in the form ofevidence) in atribunal,a formal setting with theauthoritytoadjudicateclaims or disputes. One form of tribunal is acourt.The tribunal, which may occur before ajudge,jury,or other designatedtrier of fact,aims to achieve a resolution to their dispute.[1]
Types by finder of fact
editWhere the trial is held before a group of members of the community, it is called ajury trial.Where the trial is held solely before a judge, it is called abench trial.[2]Hearingsbeforeadministrative bodiesmay have many of the features of a trial before a court, but are typically not referred to as trials. Anappeal(appellate proceeding) is also generally not deemed a trial, because such proceedings are usually restricted to a review of the evidence presented before thetrial court,and do not permit the introduction of new evidence.
Types by dispute
editCriminal
edit
Acriminal trialis designed to resolve accusations brought (usually by agovernment) against a person accused of acrime.Incommon lawsystems, most criminaldefendantsare entitled to a trial held before a jury. Because the state is attempting to use its power to deprive the accused of life, liberty, or property, the rights of the accused afforded to criminal defendants are typically broad. The rules of criminal procedure provide rules for criminal trials.
Civil
editAciviltrial is generally held to settlelawsuitsor civil claims—non-criminal disputes. In some countries, the government can both sue and be sued in a civil capacity. The rules ofcivil procedureprovide rules for civil trials.
Administrative
editAlthoughadministrative hearingsare not ordinarily considered trials, they retain many elements found in more "formal" trial settings. When the dispute goes to a judicial setting, it is called an administrative trial, to revise the administrative hearing, depending on the jurisdiction. The types of disputes handled in these hearings are governed byadministrative lawand auxiliarily by civil trial law.
Labor
editLabor law (also known asemploymentlaw) is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer, and union. Individual labour law concerns employees' rights at work also through the contract for work.Employment standardsare social norms (in some cases also technical standards) for the minimum socially acceptable conditions under which employees or contractors are allowed to work.Government agencies(such as the former US Employment Standards Administration) enforce labour law (legislature, regulatory, or judicial).
Systems
editAdversarial
editIncommon lawsystems, an adversarial or accusatory approach is used to adjudicateguiltorinnocence.The assumption is that the truth is more likely to emerge from the open contest between theprosecutionand thedefensein presenting theevidenceand opposing legal arguments, with ajudgeacting as a neutral referee and as the arbiter of the law. In several jurisdictions in more serious cases, there is ajuryto determine the facts, although some common law jurisdictions have abolished the jury trial. This polarizes the issues, with each competitor acting in its own self-interest, and so presenting the facts and interpretations of the law in a deliberately biased way.
The intention is that through a process of argument and counter-argument,examination-in-chiefandcross-examination,each side will test the truthfulness, relevancy, and sufficiency of the opponent's evidence and arguments. To maintain fairness, there is apresumption of innocence,and theburden of prooflies on the prosecution. Critics of the system argue that the desire to win is more important than the search for truth. Further, the results are likely to be affected bystructural inequalities.Those defendants with resources can afford to hire the bestlawyers.Some trials are—or were—of a more summary nature, as certain questions of evidence were taken as resolved (seehandhabend and backberend).[3][4][5]
Inquisitorial
editIncivil lawlegal systems, the responsibility for supervising the investigation by thepoliceinto whether a crime has been committed falls on anexamining magistrate or judgewho then conducts the trial. The assumption is that the truth is more likely to emerge from an impartial and exhaustive investigation, both before and during the trial itself. The examining magistrate or judge acts as an inquisitor who directs the fact-gathering process by questioningwitnesses,interrogatingthe suspect, and collecting other evidence.
The lawyers who represent the interests of the state and the accused have a limited role to offer legal arguments and alternative interpretations to the facts that emerge during the process. All the interested parties are expected to cooperate in the investigation by answering the magistrate or judge's questions and, when asked, supplying all relevant evidence. The trial only takes place after all the evidence has been collected and the investigation is completed. Thus, most of the factual uncertainties will already be resolved, and the examining magistrate or judge will already have resolved that there isprima facieof guilt.
Critics argue that the examining magistrate or judge has too much power with the responsibilities of both investigating and adjudicatingon the meritsof the case. Althoughlay assessorsdo sit as a form of jury to offer advice to the magistrate or judge at the conclusion of the trial, their role is subordinate. Further, because a professional has been in charge of all aspects of the case to the conclusion of the trial, there are fewer opportunities to appeal the conviction alleging some procedural error.[6]
Mistrials
editA judge may cancel a trial prior to the return of a verdict; legal parlance designates this as a "mistrial".A judge may declare a mistrial due to:
- The court determining that it lacksjurisdictionover a case.
- Evidence being admitted improperly, or new evidence that might seriously affect the outcome of the trial being discovered.
- Misconduct by a party,juror,[7]or an outside actor, if it preventsdue process.
- Ahung jurywhich cannot reach a verdict with the required degree of unanimity. In a criminal trial, if the jury is able to reach a verdict on some charges but not others, the defendant may be retried on the charges that led to the deadlock, at the discretion of the prosecution.
- Disqualification of a juror after the jury is empaneled, if no alternative juror is available and the litigants do not agree to proceed with the remaining jurors, or the remaining jurors not meeting the required number for a trial.
- The illness or death of a juror or attorney.
Either side may submit a motion for a mistrial; on occasion, the presiding judge may declare one on a motion of their own. If a mistrial is declared, the case at hand may be retried at the discretion of the plaintiff or prosecution, as long asdouble jeopardydoes not bar that party from doing so.
Other types
editSome other kinds of processes for resolving conflicts are also expressed as trials. For example, theUnited States Constitutionrequires that, following theimpeachmentof the president, a judge, or another federal officer by theHouse of Representatives,the subject of the impeachment may only be removed from office by animpeachment trialin theSenate.In earlier times, disputes were often settled through atrial by ordeal,where parties would have to endure physical suffering in order to prove their righteousness; or through atrial by combat,in which the winner of a physical fight was deemed righteous in their cause.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Schultz, Norman.Fact-Finding.Accessed 17 November 2008
- ^Black, Henry Campbell (1990).Black's Law Dictionary, 6th ed.St. Paul, MN:West Publishing.pp.156.ISBN0-314-76271-X.
- ^Hale, Sandra Beatriz (July 2004).The Discourse of Court Interpreting: Discourse Practices of the Law, the Witness and the Interpreter.John Benjamins. p. 31.ISBN978-1-58811-517-1.
- ^Richards, Edward P.; Katharine C. Rathbun (1999-08-15).Medical Care Law.Jones & Bartlett. p. 6.ISBN978-0-8342-1603-7.
- ^Care, Jennifer Corrin (2004-01-12).Civil Procedure and Courts in the South Pacific.Routledge Cavendish. p. 3.ISBN978-1-85941-719-5.
- ^See:
- (in Italian)Antonia Fiori, "Quasi denunciante fama:note sull’introduzione del processo tra rito accusatorio e inquisitorio",inDer Einfluss der Kanonistik auf die europäische Rechtskultur,3.Strafrecht und Strafprozeß,ed. O. Condorelli, Fr. Roumy, M. Schmoeckel; Cologne, Weimar, Vienna, 2012, p. 351–367
- Richard M. Fraher, "IV Lateran's Revolution in Criminal Procedure: the Birth ofinquisitio,the End of Ordeals and Innocent III's Vision of Ecclesiastical Politics ", inStudia in honorem eminentissimi cardinalis Alphonsi M. Stickler,ed. Rosalius Josephus Castillo Lara. Rome:Salesian Pontifical University(Pontificia studiorum universitas salesiana, Facilitas juris canonici, Studia et textus historie juris canonici,7), 1992, p. 97–111
- (in German)Lotte Kéry, "Inquisitio-denunciatio-exceptio:Möglichkeiten der Verfahrenseinleitung im Dekretalenrecht,Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Kanonistische Abteilung,87, 2001, p. 226–268.
- (in French)Julien Théry,"fama:L’opinion publique comme preuve. Aperçu sur la révolution médiévale de l'inquisitoire (XIIe–XIVes.)",inLa preuve en justice de l'Antiquité à nos jours,ed. Br. Lemesle. Rennes:Presses Universitaires de Rennes,2003, p. 119–147, online].
- Julien Théry,"Judicial Inquiry as an Instrument of Centralized Government: The Papacy’s Criminal Proceedings against Prelates in the Age of Theocracy (mid-12th to mid-14th century)",inProceedings of the 14th International Congress of Medieval Canon Law,Vatican City, 2016, p. 875–889.
- (in German)Winfried Trusen, "Der Inquisitionsprozess: seine historischen Grundlagen und frühen Formen",Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Kanonistische Abteilung,74, 1988, p. 171–215
- ^St. Eve, Amy J.; Zuckerman, Michael A. (2012)."Ensuring an Impartial Jury in the Age of Social Media"(PDF).Duke Law & Technology Review.11.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on Aug 9, 2017.
External links
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