An Introduction to American Courts

An Introduction to American Courts Judge Tom C. Rawlings Judge, Juvenile Courts Middle Judicial Circuit Sandersville, GA USA tom@sandersville.net www.tomrawlings.com

Georgia’s Middle Judicial Circuit • Five Counties in East Central Georgia • 2,300 square miles with 100,000 residents

Judicial Review: The Role of the Courts • “The judiciary ... ha[s] neither FORCE nor WILL but merely judgment." Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 78. • “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” Marbury v. Madison 5 U.S. 137 (1803)

State Supreme Court State Court of Appeals Superior Court Juvenile Court Misdemeanor Court Probate Court Administrative Law Judge Magistrate Court

United States Supreme Court UnitedStates Court Of Appeals United States District Court State Supreme Court

Sources of Law • United States Constitution • United States Treaties • United States Statutes • State Constitutions • State Statutes • Common Law Principles • Have independent force but are also used to interpret the other sources of law.

Common Law • Developed in England from custom and tradition in each community. • Became a “System” only when Kings (and Courts) determined consistency was needed. • In 19th Century, most American states codified common law principles.

Case Example • FACTS: Child ate rat poison and died. Parents sued manufacturer of rat poison. • Argument: Company could have added ingredient that would have made child vomit. • STATUTE: Makes a company liable for damages caused by a product that is not “merchantable” or “reasonably suited to the use intended.”

Example: Banks v. ICI AmericasGeorgia Supreme Court, 1994 • FACTS: Child ate rat poison and died. Parents sued manufacturer of rat poison. • STATUTE: “The manufacturer of any personal property . . . shall be liable in tort [civilly responsible], irrespective of privity, to any natural person who may use, consume, or reasonably be affected by the property and who suffers injury to his person or property because the property when sold by the manufacturer was not merchantable and reasonably suited to the use intended, and its condition when sold is the proximate cause of the injury sustained.” OCGA § 51-1-11 • Argument: Company could have added ingredient that would have made child vomit.

Question Presented • What does “merchantable and reasonably suited to the use intended” mean? • Romanian equivalent: vandabil in conditii de siguranta

Court’s Analysis • Court relies on The Restatement of Torts, legal treatises, and Cases from other jurisdictions • Answer: In determining whether a product is “merchantable” and “reasonably suited” under the statute, the Court and jury can consider whether there were alternative designs available to the manufacturer at the time the product was manufactured. Court must balance risk against usefulness of product.

Result • Court relies on common law ideas to “add clothes” to a “naked” statute. • Through use of common law concepts, Court can expand or limit a statute’s meaning. • Other lower courts in Georgia must now follow this analysis when considering Product Liability cases

Critical Issue • Can Parties Review the Law and Know How to Conduct Their Activities to Avoid Criminal or Civil Liability?

Stare Decisis: The Rule of Precedent • Promotes the evenhanded, predictable, and consistent development of legal principles • Fosters reliance on judicial decisions • Contributes to the actual and perceived integrity of the judicial process. • Adhering to precedent "is usually the wise policy, because in most matters it is more important that the applicable rule of law be settled than it be settled right • PAYNE V. TENNESSEE, 501 US 808 (1991)

An Introduction to American Courts