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Read This About Civil Court Before Going to Court

Read This About Civil Court Before Going to Court

What is a Civil Court?
A civil court is the physical venue where civil matters are heard; all civil courts will attempt to find a resolution for cases involving non-criminal matters, such as divorce cases, child custody hearings, personal injury matters, and disputes involving landlords and tenants.
Additionally, a civil court will hear matters involving credit card payment disputes, breach of contract allegations and compensation for injuries suffered from automobile accidents. A lawsuit may be filed in a civil court system by any individual or business entity who feels as though they have been injured or hurt (financially or physically) by another individual or business entity.

Civil Court Functions:
The civil court system will provide a community a means to resolve their particular issues; disgruntled individuals or companies may seek a resolution by commencing litigation in the civil lawsuit. A matter in a civil court hearing is presided over by a judge; the judge in a typical civil court case acts as an unbiased adjudicator who will listen to both claims (made by the defense and prosecuting party) to deliver a resolution within the bounds of the particular legal matter.
Although the judge renders the decision, the parties have the right to seek a jury to help determine the outcome of their case; when a jury is selected in a civil trial, the jurors will listen to both parties and follow the same course of action as the judge when seeking the resolution. The majority of civil court systems throughout the nation will also employ retired attorneys, who will act as intermediaries to help facilitate the resolution process. 

Types of Civil Court Systems:
The civil court system is not used to resolve criminal matters, nor should be used for disputes that can be resolved without the need of a court system or formal intervention. Filing a civil lawsuit is not free; any individual or business entity who files a civil lawsuit must pay a court filing fee and subsequently pay the coordinating sheriff a fee to process and serve the suit to the other party. Additionally, the cost of legal representation and the fees associated with securing evidence and witnesses can be considerable. 
Civil court cases are never brought forward by the underlying state government; civil court cases are only brought by individuals or corporations. Additionally, a judge and jury does not determine innocence or guilt in a civil case as they do in criminal matters; the deciding bodies in a civil court case only rule in favor of a party for means of compensation or the delivery of a particular service. As a result, the defendants in a civil law case will never receive jail time as part of the jury/judge’s decision—incarceration is only permitted as a form of punishment in a criminal court case. 

Civil Law Vs. Common Law

Civil Law Vs. Common Law

Common laws are those laws which are based on precedent. Civil laws are those laws which apply to civil actions or charges that someone has had their civil rights violated.

For example, common law marriage is a law that allows couples to be considered married after living together for a certain number of years. While this is not the common law in many jurisdictions, it does exist in some states.

Here’s useful information about the common law in different states:

Some states have adopted domestic partnership laws, while others have not. In fact, there are about ten states that currently legally recognize domestic partnerships. In fact, laws change quickly and the number of states that legally recognize same-sex relationships in any form fluctuates.

Currently, domestic partnerships, in the title, are seen as outdated by some members of the LGBT community. In fact, many are pushing for a legally defined, same-sex marriage so that couples are assured of receiving equal rights in regard to the legality of their relationship.

In the late seventies, a man in California lost his partner and requested to be paid for bereavement time. His employer refused to pay him and the courts agreed.

The decision was made because they had no proof as to the validity of the relationship. The case was the first to use the term, domestic partnership and the first to decide against a domestic partnership law.

Later, in California, Berkeley students defined the term and pushed for a domestic partnership law that would legally recognize same-sex relationships in the city.

The City council voted on the proposition and those that voted against it later failed to win reelection. The City Council did not adopt a domestic partnership law.

In fact, the   Berkeley school board may have been the first to approve a domestic partnership law that would recognize same-sex relationships. However, the Berkeley city council eventually passed its own domestic partnership law and a registry was created in 1991.

The acceptance of domestic partnership laws began to become a nationwide issue. Cities throughout California began to pass their own domestic partnership laws. Eventually, California passed   statewide domestic partnerships laws and became the first state to do so.

Six years later, California began to extend more rights to domestic partners and it was the first state to do so without intervention from the courts. In the interim, other states began to adopt domestic partnership laws. Each state offers unique benefits to couples that are in a legally recognized domestic partnership.

Domestic partnership laws are currently in effect in about 1/5 of states in the Country. However, each state’s laws vary greatly as far as which rights and responsibilities couples are entitled to. In some cases, couples are entitled to shared health benefits, and other times they are not.

In addition, some states view domestic partnerships as an alternative to opposite-sex marriage, which grants couples all of the same rights and responsibilities. While domestic partnerships were the first step to ensuring equal rights for the LGBT community, many same-sex couples are now striving to have their relationship defined as a legally recognized marriage.

Common laws are those which are based on precedent, rather than actual statutes. In common-law marriages, for example, the couple has lived as husband and wife and is therefore considered to be, even though they have not legally been married.

Civil laws are those laws that protect civil rights. For example, some couples claim that the inability of same-sex couples to marry is a violation of their civil rights. In some jurisdictions, same-sex couples may be involved in a common-law marriage, but this is still a violation of their civil rights when they wish to be legally married.

Simple Guide to Equal Opportunity Employer

Simple Guide to Equal Opportunity Employer

An equal opportunity employer is a term which possesses differing definitions, thus yielding no consensus as to a precise meaning. In a classical sense, the term equal opportunity employer refers to the concept of equality before law, which in essence upholds an idea of meritocracy.
Equal opportunity, through a philosophical sense, contrasts against the concept of equality of outcome. In modern terms, equal opportunity refers to the fact that an employer will not judge their candidates based on race or religious creed and will extend the employment opportunity to individuals of all races, religions, and genders.
The term is somewhat new, for the presence of equal opportunities in the workforce has become necessary to promote diversity and uphold the equal rights awarded through the Civil Rights Movement and the basic social evolution of American society.
Civil laws has more information regarding equal opportunity employers.

Civil Law

Civil Law

Civil law refers to the general category for legal systems derived or descended from the framework of laws through which the Roman Empire was administered. As such, civil laws are typically contrasted with the opposing alternative for common law.
In essence, the direction of civil law is toward rigorous codification and then enforcement of those codified legal measures, whereas common law inclines more toward an evolution in practice and principle. The civil law of the relevant area will reside in a distinct collection of written documents. It is then up to the discretion of judges to correctly interpret and administer that law.
Though the concept is essentially Roman in provenance, the myriad avenues for application of civil laws in the contemporary legal world do not end with that period, but also reflect further evolutions in how humans use laws to their own ends. In this regard, a civil law system is also related to the past legal history of the European medieval system of feudalism, the ecclesiastical of Christian churches of the period, and past German legal theory.
One key distinction between common and civil laws is the place of precedent, for which there is almost none in the latter. Interpretation, as such, is more limited in a civil law court than it would be in one devoted to the common law. The Civil Law concept is particularly significant for how the various Latin American legal systems have developed, and is also noted to a less extent in Asian and African nations.  

What is Civil Law?
Originally inspired by Roman law, Civil law is a legal scope which primarily feature the field requiring a law that must be written into a formal code. This is determined by judges, before it can be affirmed as a law. In a conceptual sense, civil law is the group of systems and legal concepts that proceeds from abstractions, while formulating general principles to distinguish substantive rules derived from procedural viewpoints and statutes.
Civil law maintains legislation and government rulings as the primary source for which laws are created; in turn, the general court system is typically not constrained by precedent and primarily composed of trained judicial officers with a limited ability to interpret law. 


General Principles of Civil Law:
The general principle of civil law is to equip citizens of a typical community with an accessible and written collection of law which must be followed by the judicial system and applied to the basic functions of a society. As a result, civil law is the most widespread form of legal system in the world (applied in various forms to over 150 countries) and the most traditional scope throughout the world.
The primary source of civil law is the legal code, which is composed of a series of statutes arranged by a specific subject matter in a pre-specified order. These codes, which are a systematic collection of interrelated articles, typically created by a legislature’s enactment of a new statute that will embody old statutes relating to the subject matter and intertwined with changes mandated by previous court decisions. 
Differences with Common Law Systems:
The original difference between civil law and common law is that in a historical context, common laws were developed by custom—the common law system began before there were any written laws and continued to be applied by the judicial system after such laws were written. In contrast, civil law developed from the Roman’s civil law system. Over time, civil law became codified and developed an organizational system used to govern communities and various jurisdictions throughout the world. 
Civil Procedure:
Civil procedure is the comprehensive body of laws that established the rules and standards which a court system must follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits. These specific rules will govern how a legality issues may begin, what kind of process is required to reach a resolution, the types of cases or pleadings, the motions or applications applied to the matters, and the various orders allowed in civil cases.
Additionally, the rules are also applied to elucidate upon the timing and manner of the deposition, the discovery process or disclosure. Such aspects will establish the conduct of the trials, the process for a judgment, and the evaluation process needed to inspect various remedies. All of these features will mold how the court system and clerks within the system must function.

Learn About the Origin Of Civil Law

Learn About the Origin Of Civil Law

Civil law originates from the legal system established by the Roman Empire to administer the large territory over which it exercised authority through the first half of the first millennium A.D. Specifically, legal scholars trace the “civil” approach to legal systems, as can be differentiated from the other primary approach, common law,from the Code of Justinian (Codex Justinianus in the original Latin) which dates back to April 7, 529. 
Civil law was further impacted following the Roman Empire’s fall by additional practices and principles adopted during the medieval period by such authorities as the Catholic Church and feudal lords. Many of the civil laws now maintained throughout the world can be traced back to the comparatively more recent document of the Napoleonic Code, which was enacted by Napoleon Bonaparte in order to standardize the legal codes of countries which he had conquered. Civil law provides for standardization and consistency.

Understanding Reverse Discrimination

Understanding Reverse Discrimination

People can engage in reverse discrimination in the U.S., and specifically in the employment sector, by appealing to the framework of laws which have been implemented by legislators to prevent discrimination from being practiced in the country, either when people are being considered for potential employment or after they have been hired.
The ability to reverse discrimination is enumerated as a Government function in U.S. Constitutional law, though specifically toward discrimination that is specifically carried out in the employment context of the Government. 
In order to prevent discrimination from also occurring in the context of private industry and commerce, laws for reverse discrimination have been gradually passed and put into effect, both at the state or Federal levels. In the latter category, for laws of reverse discrimination, discrimination can be prevented in a number of forms, such as discrimination for reasons of race, sex, nationality, mental or physical disability, or pregnancy.

Quick Overview of Civil Law

Quick Overview of Civil Law

Civil law is an area of the legal system that handles private matters between people, such as family, individuals involved in accidents, injury, privacy, and individual treatment. Conversely, business, employment, corporate, and administrative law broaches topics on a grander level, involving companies, agencies, and businesses. 
In most cases, marriage, divorce, and other aspects of family law fall under the umbrella of civil law as well. Civil law is considered to be closely-associated with both Tort law and Common Law.
The aspect of torts, or wrongs, suffered by or unto others can be handled within the realm of civil law if the matter is between the privacy of two individual entities. Common law, such as the technicalities and legalities of a Common Law Marriage, are also traditionally handled by attorneys specializing in Civil Law.

Read This Before Preparing For A Negligence Case

Read This Before Preparing For A Negligence Case

Negligence cases require proof that some individual or entity failed to act when they should have, resulting in injury or death to another. In cases where a parent is charged with negligence, no harm needs to come to the child for there to be charges of negligence. In fact, most negligence cases simply require proof that some person failed to act in the manner they should have.
For example, negligence cases can include driving recklessly. Negligence charges would include some proof that the individual failed to drive in the way they should have, resulting is some harm.
Negligence cases in the medical profession require a different burden of proof. Negligence on the part of a doctor must have resulted in some injury or death which would not have otherwise occurred or may not have occurred until a later date.

Learn the Age For A Driver’s License

Learn the Age For A Driver's License

There is no general age at which teenagers in the U.S. can get their driver’s license, due to this determination being left up to the discretion of individual state legislatures. As such, the age in which a driver’s license can first be obtained ranges between 14 years and 3 months and 17 years.
Moreover, the age at which a driver’s license can be obtained may be subject to the additional imposition of graduated licensing, according to which more restrictive licenses will first be granted to drivers prior to obtaining a full driver’s license. 
The age at which a driver’s license is granted to teenagers may depend on the degree to which the individual state is urbanized and populated. In this regard, New Jersey might be noted as having the highest age requirement for a driver’s license to be granted at 17 years old, while the less densely populated South Dakota has the lowest age level.

Read This Before Filing A Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Read This Before Filing A Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Wrongful death lawsuits typically revolve around the death of an individual through a negligent or reckless action of another individual or entity. Wrongful death suits are typically filed by the family members of the wrongful death victims.
The victim’s family can file the suit to seek compensation against the person whose reckless or negligent action resulted in the victim’s death. The families can claim compensation for the loss of inheritance, support, funeral expenses, or medical expenses. 
If you wish to file a wrongful death lawsuit, you must ensure that your case is filed within the period prescribed the applicable statute of limitations in your particular state. The statute of limitations will prescribe the time period within which your claim must be filed. If you do not file during this timeframe, you will lose your right to file a claim.
Although each state possesses their own wrongful death laws, they generally uphold the same principles. You must prove that the death of the victim was caused by a wrongful act or negligent conduct. You must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is liable for your family member’s death. In addition, you must prove that you have suffered the loss of real wages or finances to win a wrongful death suit.