Municipal Courts and Traffic Laws
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Name
Municipal Court (Judge/Administrator/Clerk)
City of Blank
1
Introduction
Municipal Judge
Appointed or Elected Public Officer
Judicial Powers or Abilities
To hear facts
To decide
To render judgment
To execute the judgment
2
Jurisdiction
Criminal misdemeanors punishable by fine
only
No confinement
Criminal municipal ordinance cases
What types of offenses or crimes can you
think of that would fall under these
categories?
3
Traffic Offenses
7.85 million new cases filed in municipal court
each year
6.5 million of those cases were traffic cases
About 83% of municipal court cases are traffic
cases
Why is it important to enforce our traffic
laws?
4
5
Defendant’s Options
Pay it
Driving Safety Course
Deferred Disposition
Plea Not Guilty—Go to Trial
Bench Trial
Jury Trial
6
The Right to a Jury Trial
Everyone has a right to a trial by an impartial
jury
U.S. Constitution
6
th
Amendment
Texas Constitution
Article I, Section 10
Code of Criminal Procedure
Articles 1.05 and 1.12
7
Impartial
Favoring neither; disinterested; treating all
alike; unbiased; equitable, fair, and just
8
Form Your Juries
Divide into groups of 6, as nearly as possible
9
The Charge
The Defendant, stands charged by Complaint
with the offense of "
Speeding
,” to which
charge the Defendant has pleaded "Not
Guilty."
A person commits an offense if that person
operates a motor vehicle on a public street or
highway at a speed in excess of the posted
speed limit.
10
The Facts
The police officer pulled over the defendant
for speeding saying that the speed detection
device showed defendant to be traveling 51
mph in a 40 mph speed zone.
Defendant was issued a citation, and later
entered a plea of not guilty.
More specific evidence and information is
available in your jury packet.
11
The Punishment Range
A person guilty of this offense shall be
punished by a fine of not less than one dollar
($1.00) nor more than two hundred dollars
($200.00).
12
Deliberations
Read your jury charges
You are the exclusive decision-makers
The burden of proof is on the State
Defendant is not required to prove innocence or
produce any evidence at all
You are not to talk about this case with any
person not of your jury
Take 10 minutes or so and come up with a
conclusion
Guilty or not guilty
If guilty, what is the fine?
13
Judgment and Sentence
Was the defendant guilty?
If so, what fine did you assess?
Bring back your judgment form to me
14
Group #1
15
Group #2
16
Group #3
17
Group #4
18
Group #5
19
Discussion
Why did you decide as you did?
Why do you think there were different
results?
Would you have come to a different decision
without a picture?
Do you see the importance of a judge and
jury and the difficulty of their job?
20
Thank You for Your Time!
Contact information
Name
Court Address
Email address
21
Good (morning/afternoon). Thank you so much for inviting me into your classroom today. My name is ____________________ and I work with our city’s municipal court.
Has anyone here ever been to our municipal court? You don’t have to tell everyone if you were in trouble! What type of issues do you think we deal with in municipal court? Okay, those are good thoughts and ideas, we’ll talk a little bit more about that in a minute.
Today we are going to spend some time talking about the trial process and how it helps increase traffic safety.
Explore the functions of a Municipal Court, the role of a Municipal Judge, jurisdiction over criminal misdemeanors and traffic offenses, importance of enforcing traffic laws, defendant's options in a trial, the right to a jury trial, and the concept of impartiality in legal proceedings.
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Presentation Transcript
Name Municipal Court (Judge/Administrator/Clerk) City of Blank JURY TRIALS AND TRAFFIC SAFETY 1
Introduction Municipal Judge Appointed or Elected Public Officer Judicial Powers or Abilities To hear facts To decide To render judgment To execute the judgment 2
Jurisdiction Criminal misdemeanors punishable by fine only No confinement Criminal municipal ordinance cases What types of offenses or crimes can you think of that would fall under these categories? 3
Traffic Offenses 7.85 million new cases filed in municipal court each year 6.5 million of those cases were traffic cases About 83% of municipal court cases are traffic cases Why is it important to enforce our traffic laws? 4
Vehicular Homicide Vehicular Assault Reckless Driving Speeding 5
Defendants Options Pay it Driving Safety Course Deferred Disposition Plea Not Guilty Go to Trial Bench Trial Jury Trial 6
The Right to a Jury Trial Everyone has a right to a trial by an impartial jury U.S. Constitution 6th Amendment Texas Constitution Article I, Section 10 Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 1.05 and 1.12 7
Impartial Favoring neither; disinterested; treating all alike; unbiased; equitable, fair, and just 8
Form Your Juries Divide into groups of 6, as nearly as possible 9
The Charge The Defendant, stands charged by Complaint with the offense of "Speeding, to which charge the Defendant has pleaded "Not Guilty." A person commits an offense if that person operates a motor vehicle on a public street or highway at a speed in excess of the posted speed limit. 10
The Facts The police officer pulled over the defendant for speeding saying that the speed detection device showed defendant to be traveling 51 mph in a 40 mph speed zone. Defendant was issued a citation, and later entered a plea of not guilty. More specific evidence and information is available in your jury packet. 11
The Punishment Range A person guilty of this offense shall be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.00). 12
Deliberations Read your jury charges You are the exclusive decision-makers The burden of proof is on the State Defendant is not required to prove innocence or produce any evidence at all You are not to talk about this case with any person not of your jury Take 10 minutes or so and come up with a conclusion Guilty or not guilty If guilty, what is the fine? 13
Judgment and Sentence Was the defendant guilty? If so, what fine did you assess? Bring back your judgment form to me 14
Group #1 15
Group #2 16
Group #3 17
Group #4 18
Group #5 19
Discussion Why did you decide as you did? Why do you think there were different results? Would you have come to a different decision without a picture? Do you see the importance of a judge and jury and the difficulty of their job? 20
Thank You for Your Time! Contact information Name Court Address Email address 21
