Legal proceeding

Legal proceedingis an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that "[t]he termlegal proceedingsincludes proceedings brought by or at the instigation of a public authority, and anappealagainst the decision of a court or tribunal ".^[1]Legal proceedings are generally characterized by an orderly process in which participants or their representatives are able to presentevidencein support of their claims, and to argue in favor of particular interpretations of the law, after which ajudge,jury,or othertrier of factmakes a determination of the factual and legal issues.^[2]

Activities needed to have a court deemlegal processto have been provided, such as throughservice of process.
Conduct of atrial,whether alawsuitor civil trial, or acriminal trial.
Issuance and enforcement ofcourt orders,including those imposingforeclosureorreceivership.
Hearings,particularlyadministrative hearings.
Arbitration.^[3]

In theUnited States,Congressional hearingsare not generally considered legal proceedings, as they are generally not directed towards the imposition of a penalty against a specific individual for a specific wrong. However,impeachmentproceedings are generally conducted as legal proceedings, although experts dispute the question of whether they are primarily legal proceedings, or are merely political proceedings dressed in legal formalities and language.^[4]Richard Posner,for example, has asserted that it was "the intent of the framers of the Constitution that an impeachment proceeding be primarily a legal proceeding, akin to a criminal prosecution, rather than a political one".^[5]

Legal case

Alegal caseis in a general sense a dispute between opposing parties which may be resolved by acourt,or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case is typically based on eithercivilorcriminal law.In most legal cases, there are one or moreaccusersand one or moredefendants.In some instances, a legal case may occur between parties that are not in opposition, but require a legal ruling to formally establish some legal facts.

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as alawsuitorcontroversy,begins when a plaintifffilesmost a document called acomplaintwith a court, informing the court of the wrong that theplaintiffhas allegedly suffered because of thedefendant,and requesting aremedy.The remedy sought may be money, aninjunction,which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or adeclaratory judgment,which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated througharbitration,which may result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case throughservice of process,by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to asettlement,which will end the case, although in some circumstances, such as inclass actions,a settlement requires court approval in order to be binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (also known as maintenance or alimony), and matters related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by theHolmes and Rahe Stress Scale,and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

Acriminal case,incommon lawjurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime isindictedby a grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called aprosecutorordistrict attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before atrialthrough aplea bargain.Typically, in a plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved when alegal procedureexists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise involved in the case, who can evaluateevidenceto determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt, innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and the kind of system in which the case is brought – whether, for example, it is aninquisitorial systemor a solo

Designation and citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes that are or have been before it.^{[citation needed]}The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases – by a title of the formClaimantvDefendant(e.g.Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not have formally designated adverse parties, a form such asIn re,ReorIn the matter ofis used (e.g.In re Gault).^[6]The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latinversus,but, when spoken inCommonwealth countries,it is normally rendered as "and"or"against"(as in, for example,Charles Dickens'Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of anatural person,some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane RoeinRoe v. Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such asR v Adams,however, the initial "R" is usually an abbreviation for the LatinRexorRegina,i.e. forthe Crown.(For an explanation of other terms that may appear in case titles, see theGlossary of legal terms.)

References

^Ben Emmerson, Andrew Ashworth, Alison Macdonald,Human Rights and Criminal Justice(2012), p. 198.
^Dr Hendrik Kaptein, Henry Prakken, Bart Verheij,Legal Evidence and Proof: Statistics, Stories, Logic(2013), p. 12.
^Mauro Rubino-Sammartano,International Arbitration Law and Practice(2001), p. 42, noting that "arbitration constitutes legal proceedings".
^See generally,Buckner F. Melton, The First Impeachment: The Constitution's Framers and the Case of Senator William Blount(1998).
^Richard A. Posner,An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton(2009), p. 185.
^The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities(4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012.ISBN 978-1849463676.Archived fromthe originalon Sep 6, 2015.