General Litigation
| Preclusion and Effect of a Judgment in a Civil Lawsuit |
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| There are several doctrines of preclusion in civil procedure. Some of these doctrines are res judicata, collateral estoppel, judicial estoppel, full faith and credit and law of the case.
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| Personal Representatives |
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| When a person dies, state law establishes legal procedures for settling the deceased person's estate. This process is called probate. If the person has a will, he/she may name someone to serve as personal representative. A personal representative is the executor or administrator of a deceased person's estate. In some states, the terms executor and administrator are used in place of personal representative. If no personal representative is specified by will or if the person dies intestate (without a will), the probate court will appoint someone to serve as personal representative.
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| Judicial Conflicts of Interest |
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| Our legal system requires a fair and independent judiciary. In order to maintain public trust in our system of justice, judges must conduct themselves in an ethical manner. There are codes of conduct, which set standards of behavior for state and federal judges. These standards are aimed at assuring the impartiality of judges and reducing the possibility of conflicts of interest. More... |
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| The Jurisdiction of a State Court |
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| Jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to hear and decide a case. The power of a state court to hear a particular case comes from the constitution and laws of that state. For a court's decision to be legally binding, the court must have both subject matter jurisdiction (authority to hear a case involving the type of legal matter at issue, such as a contract or a personal injury) and personal jurisdiction (authority over the parties to the suit). More... |
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| Settlement Conferences in State Appellate Courts |
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| The increased volume of appeals in cases has led to significant delays in finalizing an appeal. This has prompted state appellate courts to re-evaluate their case management procedures and adopt methods that promote speedier resolution of appellate cases. This article focuses on the use of settlement conferences prior to oral argument to reduce the backlog of cases and accelerate the appeal process. The stated goals of settlement conference programs are to encourage the settlement of appeals, simplify the issues, expedite appeals, and reduce costs. More... |
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