THE CRIMINAL COURTS AND CRIMINAL CASES – Legal Fundi

Chapter 5

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Particulars to take if someone has already appeared in court on a criminal charge

Particulars to take if someone has received a summons

Letter of Demand for the Small Claims Court

Police misconduct

Your right to appear in court within 48 hours of arrest

Police shoot and injure while making an arrest

Refusing to give your name or address to the police

Failing to obey a court order

Appealing against the decision of a magistrate

Passing the Legal Aid means test

How urgent is the need for an interdict?

Claim is too large for the Small Claims Court (SCC)

Which court should be used in each example?

Attorneys’ Associations

Legal Resources Centres

University Legal Aid Clinics

Justice centres

Legal aid clinics

Applying for legal aid

How to pay for an attorney

How to find an attorney

When do you need an attorney?

Responsibilities of attorneys

USING AN ATTORNEY

Spoliation orders

Equality Courts

Small Claims Court (SCC)

Steps in a civil claim in a magistrate’s court

THE CIVIL COURTS AND CIVIL CASES

Reporting a case of police misconduct

Community Police Forums

Powers of the police to arrest

Powers of the police to search and seize

Powers of the police to question

The Child Justice System

Dealing with organised crime: The Prevention of Organised Crime Act

Steps in a criminal court case

Criminal charges

THE CRIMINAL COURTS AND CRIMINAL CASES

SETTLING DISPUTES OUTSIDE OF COURT

What is a review?

What is an appeal?

What is a trial?

TRIALS, APPEALS, AND REVIEWS

Who works in the legal system?

The Land Claims Court

The Labour Court

Small Claims Court (SCCs)

Magistrates’ Courts

The High Courts

The Supreme Court of Appeal

The Constitutional Court

STRUCTURE OF THE COURTS

Kinds of law: criminal and civil

How is a court decision or judgment made?

Constitutional law

Where does the law come from?

INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW

THE CRIMINAL COURTS AND CRIMINAL CASES

Criminal cases must follow certain laws and rules. These are referred to as criminal laws and procedures. They define what must happen before a case gets to court, the role and powers of the police in this process, what happens in court and what happens at the end of the court case. (See Police)

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