Elements of a Trial

There are two kinds of cases: “Civil” and “Criminal.” Both types of cases involve laws, also referred to as “ordinances” and “statutes,” enacted by the legislature of the local, state, and federal governments.

When an individual, business, or government agency is charged with violating a law, a civil or criminal case may be brought, depending on the law involved. Many times, cases are settled or dropped soon after being filed. A small number of cases, however, result in trials.

At trial, the parties on each side of a case argue the law and the facts. The judge decides all issues or questions of law; it is the judge’s job to determine which laws apply to the case and how they should be applied. In jury trials, the members of the jury decide the issues of fact that are contested by the parties. Many court decisions are recorded and collected for future reference by the public. When a judge interprets and applies a law, her decision is referred to as “case law”.

1. Civil Case
Civil lawsuits may be brought for breach of contract, personal injuries, defamation, or violations of civil rights. The participants may be individuals, businesses, or government agencies. The two parties in a civil case are referred to as the “plaintiff” and the “defendant”; the plaintiff is the person bringing the lawsuit and the defendant is the person being sued.

The goal of civil litigation is to determine whether the defendant violated the law and what the appropriate consequence of that violation should be.

(1) Cause of action
The legal basis for a civil lawsuit is called a “cause of action”. Each cause of action consists of “elements” that the plaintiff must prove in order to prevail. For example, the elements of a cause of action for “negligence” are duty, breach of duty, proximate cause, and damages.

When a plaintiff brings a civil lawsuit against a defendant, she files a court documents called a “complaints” that identifies the cause(s) of action and alleges the specific acts of the defendant that violated the law. So, if a plaintiff sued a defendant for negligence, she would allege that the defendant had a duty and that he breached it, that his breach was the proximate cause of her injuries, and that she sustained damages as a result.

Causes of action are often divided into separate “counts”. For example, the complaint in an automobile accident case might include one count for personal injury and another for property damage. In a contract case, the plaintiff might bring one count claiming that certain goods were not delivered on time and another claiming that they were damaged when they were finally received.

(2) The burden of proof
A plaintiff can prevail in a civil case only if she can prove each element of her claim by a “preponderance of the evidence.” Translated literally, preponderance of the evidence means a majority of the evidence. This does not mean that the plaintiff must merely present more evident or more witnesses than the defendant; it means that the evidence presented must indicate that, more likely than not, the defendant is “liable”, as opposed to “not liable.” There is no finding of guilt in civil actions.

A party found liable in a civil case may be ordered to correct the action if reversible, alter the current course of action if ongoing, or pay money to the plaintiff for damages. With each of these remedies, the goal is to make the plaintiff “whole” again; to return her to her pre-injured state, if possible, or to compensate her fairly for her loss due to the defendant’s actions.

(3) Damages
Payment of damages can be awarded for a plaintiff’s financial loss (including lawyer’s fee, if appropriate), as well as for physical or mental suffering resulting from the defendant’s conduct. There are two types of damages in civil cases: “compensatory” and “punitive”. Compensatory damages cover the actual loss and suffering of the plaintiff. Punitive damages are awarded above and beyond compensatory damages to punish the defendant for his wrongdoing and to ensure that the conduct will not be repeated.

2. Criminal Cases
Criminal cases are brought by the government against individuals or business accused of violating local, state, or federal criminal laws. The parties in criminal cases are the “prosecution” and the “defense.” The prosecution is the local, state, or federal prosecutor. The defendant is the accused individual or business, who is represented by private counsel or by a government defense attorney (typically called a “public defender”) if he lacks the financial resources to pay for his own attorney.

Laws defining crimes list the criminal elements the government must prove to convict the defendant. These elements usually include a physical act and a mental state. Most statutes also set forth the range of sentences available if the defendant is convicted.

(1) The burden of proof
Our criminal justice system is based on the premise that allowing a guilty person to go free is better than putting an innocent person behind bars. For this reason, the defendant is presumed innocent and the persecution carries a heavy burden of proof during criminal trials. (Note: there is no finding of “innocent” in criminal trials; only “guilty” or “not guilty”.)

To prevail in a criminal case, the prosecution must prove each element of the crime “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Despite its frequent use, reasonable doubt remains difficult to define. As the U.S. Supreme Court explained, reasonable doubt is “doubt based on reason which arises from evidence or lack of evidence.”

(2) Aggravating and mitigating factors and affirmative defense.
Some criminal statutes raise or lower the severity of the crime charged (or the punishment) on the basis of certain “aggravating” or “mitigating” factors, when proven at trial. Aggravating factors are circumstances that make the crime or the punishment worse. Mitigating factors are circumstances that tend to decrease the severity of the crime or punishment. For example, a criminal statute outlining the charge of first-degree murder might include aggravating or mitigating factors addressing the state of mind of the defendant, the age of the victim, or the method used to commit the crime. Likewise, some criminal statutes outline “affirmative defense” to the crime. An affirmative defense, once proven, legally exonerates the defendant of the crime charged. For example, a frequently used affirmative defense in first-degree murder cases is self-defense.

3. Case law
In addition to understanding the statutes in your case, you should also look to the case law to determine how those laws have been interpreted and applied by courts. In mock trials, relevant case law is provided to the participants along with the case materials. Just like a legislative enactment, case law is binding on the parties insofar as it is used to determine the meaning of a law. When basing an argument on case law, however, it is important that you argue how the facts of your case are more easily compared to, than distinguished from, the original case.