| Absolute immunity | status that places a person beyond the law & makes them free from legal obligations |
| Affiant | person who makes, subscribes & signs the affidavit |
| Affidavit | written declaration of facts supported by oath before a person who has authority to administer it |
| Civil Action | Legal action to protect a private civil right or compel a civil remedy (different than criminal prosecution) |
| defamation | something that tends to injure a persons reputation |
| Dillon's Rule | Municipal govts have only those powers expressly granted to them by state legislature, those necessarily implied from the grant of power and those that are essential and indispensable to the municipalities existence and function. |
| Enabling legislation | the act of giving/enacting laws (not the same as court made laws) |
| General Law city | operates under the laws of the state few exceptions. All cities start as this and are cities with a population under 5000 |
| Home Rule | power given to a city to govern itself as long as charter provisions/ordinances do not conflict with the state law. |
| Can become Home Rule | After a population of 5000, with popular vote and a home rule charter. |
| Home Rule Charter | Organizational plan (constitution) drawn up by municipality and adopted by popular vote. |
| Injunction of Law | judicial remedy issued in order to prohibit someone from doing a certain activity |
| Libel | published defemation |
| Lien | an encumbrance or legal burden on property |
| Lis Pendens | pending lawsuit |
| Preemption | Judicial principal that federal trumps state legislation on the same subject |
| Real property | Real estate- land, bldg or anything attached/affixed to the land |
| Return | a report to the judge on implementation of an arrest or SW |
| Search Warrant | written order from judge that directs LE to search a specific area to gather evidence |
| Sovereign immunity | you can't bring a lawsuit against the government without their consent (the king can do no wrong) |
| Substantive criminal law | law with the purpose of preventing harm to society which prescribes punishment for specific offenses |
| Is substantive criminal law and remedial law the same? | No - remedial law provides methods of enforcement |
| Substantive due process | the right of all persons to receive the guarantees & safeguards of the law and the judicial process which includes constitutional requirements as adequate notice, assistance of counsel, right to remain silent, right to a speedy & public trial, to an impartial jury and to confront and secure witnesses. |
| Substantive law | written law that governs rights and obligations of those who are subject to it. |
| Testimony | verbal evidence given by witness |
| Ultra Vires | beyond the legal power / authority of an entity |
| Venire | a writ summoning persons to court to act as jurors |
| Writ | order to do something from a judge |
| Writ of Mandamus | extraordinary writ that is not a matter of the officials discretion. (Used only when all other judicial remedies fail) |
| US Constitution | all individual freedoms and prohibition from abridging these freedoms are derived. The constitutional rights are the most important rights one can have and they can only be altered by constitutional amendment |
| Texas Constitution | rights more far reaching and more detailed than US Constitution. US Constitution always takes precedence. |
| Tenth Amendment | reserves all powers not granted to the federal government to the states. |
| 3 Forms Local Government | 1. Mayor Council Form 2. Commission Form 3. Council-Manager Form |
| 2 Forms Mayor-Council Form | Weak and Strong mayor |
| Commission form | power is shared equally among elected body. Was first adopted in Galveston TX in 1901 |
| Council-Manager Form | Uses corporate structure as model to make government less political and less subject to corruption. First adopted in 1912 Sumpter Ohio, 1914 Dayton OH |
| Dillon's Rule Year? | 1868 from State Supreme Court Judge John F Dillon that cities are the children of the state. |
| Fourteenth Amendment | No Discrimination - "no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" |
| 3 Types of Enforcement | Ordinances, regulations, Judicial |
| Ordinances | laws at the city, county, state level. |
| regulations | laws at the state and federal level |
| Judicial | laws based on precedents set in court |
| Texas Court System | Municipal Court-> County->District->Court of Civil Appeals0> TX Supreme->US Supreme Court. Small claims $500 - $1000. Can appeal if judgement is >$20 |
| Federal Court System | Federal distrcit court->5th Circuit Court of Appeals->US Supreme Court. Only goes to federal court if conflict of jurisdiction between individuals and states with an amount of >$50k or upon a question of federal law. |
| TX jurisdiction of 9 Circuit Court of Appeals | Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Judges Role | interpret the law |
| Jury's Role | decide the facts |
| who can have a jury trial? | anyone upon request |
| Peremptory Challenge | a challenge to juror given without any reason |
| The Rule | if asked to invoke the rule it prohibits witnesses from hearing other witnesses testimony in the courtroom. Reps from defense and prosecution are immune. |
| Appeals can be made: | to settle a question of law or an incorrect ruling such as: a rule of evidence, procedure, substantive law, jury charge, or other technical legal points |
| First Amendment | Signs, freedom of speech |
| Fourth Amendment | No illegal search and seizures. Require a SW |
| Probable cause | evidence to warrant an arrest or search and seizure. (reason to believe) |
| The most effective method of enforcement is | routine periodic inspections |
| SW Time period | 3 days exclusive of its issuance and execution |
| Camara Vs Municipal Court of San Francisco | Search of private property is unreasonable unless have SW. |
| When consent not needed | Only when the CE has reason to believe an emergency exists (even then it's best to have a SW) |
| Plain View Doctrine | exception to the 4th amendment rule |
| exception to the 4th amendment rule | Do not need consent only !) during the fire itself 2) reasonable time after the fire to determine cause 3) if cause cannot be found due to darkness/smoke a short period of time after that |
| Comprehensive Zoning began: | in 1909 due to growth and industrialization |
| Standard Zoning Enabling Act | 1921 by President Herbert Hoover who appointed a commission to draft a model of zoning |
| The constitutionality of zoning | was upheld in Supreme court in 1926 in legal case Village of Euclid vs Ambler realty |
| The constitutionality of zoning was upheld: | in Supreme court in 1926 in legal case Village of Euclid vs Ambler realty |
| TX adopted zoning in | 1927 |
| Urban Planning | the simple process in which sound decisions are made and action taken based on the collection, analysis & management of info |
| Comprehensive Plan | planning dept creates the comprehensive plan to lay out the direction f the city for physical, social, economic & environmental development of the city. |
