LEGAL SYSTEM

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Basic Legal Concepts

The United States Constitution, and its Amendments, is the supreme law of the land.  The Constitution guarantees all Americans certain inalienable rights, that is, rights that cannot be taken away such as the rights to free speech and freedom of religion; the right to a fair and speedy trial; and the right to assemble.

The U.S. legal system is divided into two categories, civil and criminal.

Civil Law

Civil law allows individuals the ability to sue in a court of law.  That means you can seek legal recourse against an individual, business, or even the government, for a harm or injury they have caused you to suffer.   The person bringing a lawsuit is called the Plaintiff, and the person or entity being sued is called the Defendant.  If the plaintiff wins, the court can order the defendant to pay him or her money and/or to do, or refrain from doing, specific things, but a civil court cannot punish a defendant by putting him or her in jail. That is left strictly to the criminal courts.

Criminal Law

In America, any person who is charged with any crime is presumed to be innocent until and unless he or she is found guilty after a fair trial in a court of law.  Criminal law is designed to punish individuals who commit crimes. The punishments a criminal court can impose include fines, restitution, jail or even death.  The person charged with a crime is the defendant. The plaintiff in a criminal case is always “the people” because crimes are considered to have been committed against society even though the victim might be an individual.  A crime victim might also sue a perpetrator in a civil action, but that is a completely separate proceeding from the criminal court action which can only be brought by the government on behalf of the people.  

Both civil and criminal cases can be decided by a jury, usually made up of 12 citizens selected, usually, from voter registration records. Civil cases may be decided by a judge or a jury and, if by jury, do not require a unanimous decision, but rather a majority of 8 of the 12 jurors.

Persons charged with a serious crime have a constitutional right to a trial by jury and a conviction requires a unanimous finding of guilt by all 12 jurors.  If even one juror votes “not guilty”, the defendant will go free, and in most cases cannot be charged again with the same crime.  A finding of “not guilty” does not necessarily mean a defendant is innocent, only that the government did not meet its burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Thus a defendant could be found “not guilty” by a criminal court, but ”guilty” by a civil court in which the plaintiff must only prove guilt by a preponderance of the evidence.  A famous example of this was the O.J. Simpson case.

What ever legal issues you might be confronted with, it is almost always advisable to consult a lawyer.  Many attorneys will not charge anything for an initial consultation.  If the matter you are dealing with is very important, you might want to consult 2 or 3 attorneys before hiring one.

How to Find an Attorney

First determine what kind of an attorney you are looking for.  Most lawyers work within certain areas of law.  For example, lawyers who specialize in criminal matters often do not take civil cases, and vis-versa.  Some lawyers specialize in one very specific area of law, for example a civil litigator might only handle “family law” cases, such as divorces and child custody.   Immigration law is one such specialty, and even with that area of practice there are many sub-specialties such as employment, deportation, appeals, amnesty, etc.  The best place to start looking for an immigration lawyer is at the American Immigration Lawyers Association website.

Another way to find an attorney, in any area of law, is to ask people you know if they can recommend a good attorney or look in the yellow pages of your local telephone directory where almost all lawyers advertise and are listed under areas of practice.  Finally, you can contact the Bar Association for the city and county where you live.

Finding a lawyer is usually not difficult, you can and should find several in any area of law.  Deciding which lawyer is right for you, however, requires some diligence on your part.  When hiring an attorney, here are a few things to consider.

Interview 2 or 3 lawyers before you decide.  Many attorneys will offer an initial consultation at no charge.
At these interviews, ask questions, for example:

• How long has he or she been practicing in the area of law you are interested?
• What is their success rate?
• Who, besides themselves, do they consider to be the best lawyers in their field.
• What are his or her fees and how are they charged?

Remember, in the legal arena, experience and the ability to work well within the local system and with their colleagues counts for a lot. Don't be afraid to ask.