North vs. South - a legal comparision

A detailed Summary of North vs. South - a legal comparision

Many Canadians believe that Canadian law and American law are one in the same, (aside from major discrepancies i.e. Death Penalty) or at least very similar. But what most people do not know is that, in fact they are very different. Even though both systems evolved over hundreds of years from The English Common Law system, they have since taken different routes. Canada has kept mostly to the British formalities such as discipline and even the black gowns traditionally worn by British judges. The U.S. has however become a more informal and argumentative court system.

The U.S. courts and Canadian courts have many differences but one of the main ones is in their court structure. To begin with in Canada all criminal matters are Federal so crimes, their terms and punishments are the same from coast to coast. This differs from the U.S. where most of their criminal matters are legislated state by state. This means for some crimes there could be a different approach to a crime, whether it be terms or punishment by each state. U.S. courts are also usually quicker to accept scientific and technical evidence and they tend to have longer trials even though they work longer ho

urs, sometimes even sitting in on a weekend. This is mainly because they are so much more informal and argumentative than Canadian courts.

The actual means by which they conduct the court also differs. In the U.S. prosecutors are not allowed to appeal an acquittal, a jury has the final say. In Canada a Crown Attorney can not only appeal an acquittal but he can also appeal the sentences in some situations. In the U.S. "Pretrial disclosure" is a big thing, both the Prosecutor and the Defense are required to inform each other of their plans to call on witnesses. This gives both sides a good idea of the case the other is trying to bring together. This can give an incredible amount of information away such as, a chance to counteract your plan (i.e. debunk a witness). Failure to abide to this pretrial disclosure can lead to major upset in the court. If one side was not informed prior to the admission of evidence the Judge may claim it as in admissible. In Canada the Crown must also show pretrial disclosure, however the defense does not have to. Judges are also different, in how they are selected. In Canada, Supreme Court Judges are appointed by the Federal Justice Minister, Crown Attorneys are appointed by the Provincial Attorneys General. In the U.S both Judges and District Attorneys are elected.

Juries differ between the two countries as well. The U.S. demands that citizens ordered to show up for jury duty fill out an extensive question

Some common words found in the essay are:
District Attorneys, Common Law, Prosecutor Defense, , Crown Attorney, Canada Crown, Death Penalty, canadian courts, Court Judges, Crown Attorneys, pretrial disclosure, english common law, english common, common law, informal argumentative, court structure, courts means, challenges cause, canada crown, appeal acquittal,

Approximate Word count = 987
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics