Legal Unit 3 AOS2- Roles of Key Personnel in a Civil Dispute Flashcards
(15 cards)
Key personnel
- Judge/Mag
- Jury
- Parties
Roles of the judge/mag
- Acting impartially in decision making
- Determining liability & remedy
- Managing the hearing or trial
- Case management
Judge/Mag- Acting impartially in decision making
Magistrates and judges must not only be unbiased but there must be no apprehended bias. If there is any actual or apprehended bias, the magistrate or judge should remove themselves from the case as an independent decision maker ensures that the rule of law is upheld
Judge/Mag- Determining liability & remedy
If there is no jury in the civil trial, the judge must decide whether the plaintiff has established their claim against the defendant, and if so, what remedy (if any) should be awarded. This means that the judge, not a jury, is the decider of facts. In Magistrates’ Court civil cases, there is no option for a jury, therefore the magistrate will determine both liability and the remedy.
Judges and magistrates will generally ‘reserve’ their decision and deliver it a later time. In doing so, they will normally provide their written reasons for their decision. These written reasons, known as ‘court judgments’, should be delivered in a timely manner and in a way that is accessible and readable.
Managing the hearing or trial
The judge or magistrate has power to ask a witness some questions to clarify their evidence, and hand down rulings throughout the trial where necessary. The judge or magistrate can make such a ruling at any time. If there is a jury in the higher courts, the judge may need to address the jury during the trial, give directions to the jury, and sum up the case to the jury at the conclusion of trial. If one or both of the parties is self-repped, the judge/mag has the additional responsibility of ensuring they understand processes and their obligations and rights.
Case management
Involves judges/mags giving directions + orders to parties in order to control the progress of the case more effectively
- Can occur before or during a trial
- Makes directions/orders with aim to control the progress of the hearing/trial more effectively & efficiently
Examples of directions/orders given through case management
Discovery
- Disclose to other parties relevant docs to case
- Used to e.g. limit discovery to certain category of docs, or ordering docs to be discovered by certain date
Mediation
- Referring claim to approach dispute resolution through mediation w or w/o parties consent
- Can help parties understand what they’re not agreeing with even if it does not work out
Roles of the jury
- Being objective in decision-making
- Listening to & remembering evidence
- Delivering a verdict & determining the amount of damages (in some cases)
Jury- Being objective in decision-making
The jury must be unbiased and bring an open mind to the task of deciding the guilt or innocence of the accused, putting aside any prejudices or preconceived ideas
Jury- Listening to & remembering evidence
The jury must make sense of all the evidence presented in the courtroom and concentrate, completing measures such as taking notes if it helps them to remember.
Jury- Delivering a verdict & determining the amount of damages
The jury must decide whether the plaintiff has established their case on the balance of probabilities & must also decide whether the defendant has established any defence. A civil jury must try to reach a unanimous verdict of 6/6, but the court may accept a majority verdict in all cases of 5/6
Roles of the parties
- Making decisions about the conduct of the case
- Discovering documents to the other party
- Participating in the hearing or trial
Party- Making decisions about the conduct of the case
Each party controls its own case and has complete control over decisions about how the case will be run, as long as the rules of evidence and procedure are followed which is known as ‘party control’. The parties make their own decisions about what claims they will make, what defences they will raise, and which witnesses they will call.
Party- Discovering documents to the other party
This role is the responsibility of the parties to hand over key relevant documents such as if the plaintiff claims to have suffered physical injuries, there are likely to be medical records & other docs such as texts and emails to show they did in fact suffer those injuries.The parties’ role to discover documents continues all the way up to and during trial.
Party- Participating in the hearing or trial
The parties have a role to present the case which includes presenting their opening address outlining what their case will be, then presenting evidence that supports the case which entails calling and examining witnesses, cross-examining any witnesses called by the accused, and making a closing address regarding strictly only the evidence.
