What Are the Different Types of Litigation Cases

The American legal system can be complex to navigate. When involved in a lawsuit or accused of a criminal offense, it is important to understand the type of case you are in and the different processes involved.

One crucial difference is the one between civil litigation and criminal litigation. Luckily, with over 1.3 million lawyers in the U.S who run general or specialized practices, you can always find one who will help you navigate either.

Criminal Cases

Criminal cases involve the government prosecuting an individual for violating state or federal laws or allegedly committing a crime. The case is presented before the court by the prosecutor, a state’s attorney (District Attorney), or the United States Attorney for a federal crime.

Civil cases

The civil litigation process begins when a person or entity files a dispute against another person or entity, suing for compensation for damages caused. The judge or jury listening to the case will then apply the appropriate law to the facts presented in court by both parties. The plaintiff files a complaint in court seeking monetary compensation, an injunction, or an order as a result of an action by the defendant.

Types of civil cases include:

Personal Injury Tort Claims

One of the most common cases in civil litigation is personal injury claims. The plaintiff asks for compensation for damage caused as a result of an action by the defendant. The argument may be based on negligence, intentional wrongdoing, or strict liability. Some of the claims filed include auto and motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, fraud, personal injury, animal attacks, and many more.

Contract Disputes

Breach of contract claims results from the failure of a person or entity to fulfill their contractual obligations; thus, the plaintiff files a case in a civil court. The plaintiff asks for compensation for the non-fulfillment of the contract signed. Some of the matters handled include violation of business agreements and non-delivery of paid purchase.

Equitable Claims

The aggrieved party may ask the court to issue orders to an individual or entity to halt an action or to take a specific action. Most cases involve plaintiffs seeking temporary restraining or reprieve orders against the defendant.

Class Action Suits

A civil litigation lawyer represents a whole group or class of people filing for compensation, against an organization, for the many injuries or damage caused to them. Class action suits are complex to litigate and may end in huge compensation payouts. An example is a group of consumers suing a company for a faulty product or equipment that caused injury to them.

Divorce and Family Law Disputes

Divorce, legal separation, and custody disputes fall under civil litigation. The court rules on breaking the union, sharing of the marital assets, child custody, and support. From the complex nature of the cases, it would be best to find civil litigation lawyers with a firm grasp of family law.

Property Disputes

Property cases involve disagreements about property ownership and boundaries. The court may offer more than monetary compensation, issuing out restriction orders against the trespasser.

Civil litigation proceedings are usually complex, requiring the professional knowledge of experienced lawyers to present the cases. If you need a civil litigation lawyer in Rockwall, TX, you can contact the Law Firm of Patrick Short.

Amid police force controversies, many municipalities are strengthening their community policing efforts with increased resources and new strategies

Community policing initiatives are broadly defined as strategic efforts to encourage trust between police departments and civilians. Most community policing projects focus on interactions to create partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address conditions surrounding crime and public safety.

In light of recent controversies concerning the use of police force, many municipalities are strengthening their community policing efforts with increased resources and new strategies.

LOCAL YOUTH TRAINERS

In Baltimore, a social justice organization is offering local police departments with specialized training on how to better interact with residents. These training programs will be led by teens who live in the communities directly impacted by police activity and monitoring.

The Inner Harbor Project not only teaches police how to communicate better with local residents but also provides urban teens with the necessary skills and information to lead these important classes. The social justice organization equips teenagers with research and professional skills to enable them to brainstorm solutions to community issues involving race, class, and culture. In Baltimore, there has been an ongoing conflict between young city residents and police.

The Inner Harbor Project aims to help teenagers better navigate public spaces in the city without causing disturbances or triggering police responses.

Likewise, the group is also working to ease tension between teens and local businesses. The Inner Harbor Project released The Harbor Card program that offers discounts to young shoppers at a number of participating outlets. The goal is to foster a more relaxed environment between young patrons and the business community – which was most likely to contact police if teens appeared to be loitering.

SMARTPHONE CHATTER

The Chattanooga Police Department recently adopted a smartphone application that allows the department to communicate with city residents regarding crime in local neighborhoods. The Nextdoor app enables police officers to send residents:

• Safety tips
• Event information
• Community alerts

The information can be shared with residents in a specific neighborhood most affected by the news. The app also functions as a private community forum where residents can post messages regarding local news such as upcoming garage sales or lost pets.

While police may post messages to residents, the department will be unable to see posts among neighbors. Residents, on the other hand, can see all messages, post to the forum or send a private message directly to the police. The app is free to use once a resident has verified they live in a neighborhood, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

The overall goal of the app is to both increase communication between police and residents, as well as increase safety and awareness.

INTERACTIVE POLICING

In Messina, New York, the local police department has unveiled a new community policing initiative that gets officers on the streets to interact with youth. The True Blue program encourages officers to spend at least a half hour of their shift out in public spending time with children at playgrounds and other community centers, Watertown Daily Times reported.

Whether the police are spending time with kids playing hockey or basketball in the park, fishing in a creek or reading at the library, they are participating in the program. The goal is to nurture strong, trusting relationships between youth and police officers. If the children feel comfortable with local police, they will be less afraid to report things they see or ask questions in the future, Watertown Daily Times reported.

Messina Police Chief LaBrake said the program is designed to get police officers out of their cars and on the streets where they can learn about community needs and concerns more directly. In addition, the initiative hopes to present a more positive image of police officers than what has been presented in media coverage of recent controversies.

PLAY BALL

Similar to Messina’s True Blue program, a Chicago police department has created a youth baseball league to build stronger relationships with city youths. In a neighborhood riddled with gang violence, most kids in Englewood are unable to play outside in the summer without fear of violence or arrests.

The Englewood Police/Youth Baseball League was strategically launched in one of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods and aims to keep vulnerable kids off the streets and away from violence. Furthermore, the league shows youths that police officers can help keep the community safe and shouldn’t be seen as a threat.

CREATE LEADERSHIP

Another way local police departments are making community policing a priority is by instating the necessary leadership to organize initiatives and be held accountable for performance. The Chicago Police Department recently named its first Deputy Chief of Community Policing to further bridge the gap between community groups and police departments.

The Deputy Chief of Community Policing will work with the patrol division and CAPS personnel to coordinate community policing efforts and projects across the city. These initiatives include moving hundreds of officers out of administrative roles and into foot and bike patrols in an effort to support interactions with residents.

MEASURING SUCCESS

It is one thing to launch a community policing project, but an entirely separate project to know if it is working or not. Lorie Fridell, associate professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida, argues that police departments should conduct community surveys at regular intervals to gauge how residents feel about the programs and police departments in general, Newsweek reported.

Another type of survey – a consumer survey – would poll individuals who had recent contact with the police. This survey would provide deeper insight into how one-on-one interactions have or have not changed since the program was launched.

Furthermore, cities should be evaluating their police data regularly to identify any major reductions, spikes or patterns in police-community activities. Departments can track criminal activity alongside resident reporting to see if greater trust has been built in the community.

Some departments, for example, have adopted ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology that can compare the number of detected gunshots with the number of 911 calls related to gunfire at the time. This data illustrates the state of relationships between residents and police by measuring people’s willingness to call law enforcement, Newsweek reported.

No matter the strategy, police departments should be documenting activities in neighborhoods where community policing projects are active, and comparing the results to other areas to identify successes, failures and best practices.

We believe that planning your estate well in advance should benefit you and your family. It does not matter what age you are, as something unexpected could happen, leaving your loved ones burdened with the responsibility of distributing your estate in the best way they can.

As estate lawyers, we can provide you with the advice you need to help divide up your assets if you die, or become incapacitated through no fault of your own.

Many people do not know how to draw up a Will and even though it is not complicated it needs to be created in a way that there are no ambiguities in relation to the distributing of your estate. Any doubts in beneficiaries’ minds could lead to unnecessary court battles that divide families who have had good family relationships before the death of a loved one.

What is a Florida living trust?

A living trust comes under the Florida Trust Code and a Florida resident draws this up during their life to benefit themselves, their spouse, and other people following their death. Florida trusts are laid out in Chapter 736 of the Florida statutes.

There are several parts to this type of trust which are:

• there is the individual who initiates the trust and plans what the living trust agreement contains. This is the trustmaker, settler or grantor.
• the trustee is appointed to administer the assets and makes sure the contents of the trust are distributed in accordance with the wishes of the trustmaker.
• the lifetime beneficiary, who is the trustmaker, settler or grantor has complete access to the income and principal contained in the living trust throughout their lifetime.

A living trust formed for estate planning purposes is entirely revocable both in full or just a part. The trust maker can alter anything in the trust while still alive and mentally able to do so. As soon as the trust maker dies, this living trust is irrevocable, so the beneficiaries of the trust and successor may not change any of the trust’s provisions.

Organizing a living trust is never an easy matter but one of our estates, trusts, and probate lawyers have vast experience dealing with these difficult real-life issues and can navigate you through the difficult decision-making required when you decide a living trust best suits your needs.

Estate planning and the probate court

When a person dies in Florida without a will, their estate is considered “intestate.’’ This typically means there are no clear instructions available for the distribution of property and assets. When this happens the Florida probate court will be involved following a petition from a surviving heir or any other individual(s) who may claim s/he has a right to the estate. The legal proceedings that follow will decide how the estate is to be divided.

If at all possible, the probate court must be avoided as it can be a costly and time-consuming process. When deceased property decisions end up in the probate court, it is the legal system alone that decides how property and assets should be fairly divided not the family left behind. These problems can easily be avoided as long as the proper documentation has been compiled regarding the distribution of your wealth. One of our probate lawyers can work on your behalf so the time and cost is minimized when it comes to the time you need to pass your assets on to your surviving family members.