CASE EXAMPLE SMITH V JOHNSON

Lawsuits are the front lines of communications law under a common law system, so it’s important to understand the way a case is treated within the legal system.

The way a civil law case works  can be described in this hypothetical case of Smith v Johnson.  In our hypothetical case, we’ll say that Samantha Smith is a state legislator and a well-known public figure in Virginia.  Jesse Johnson is a web publisher in the Tidewater region.  Smith says Johnson hurt her reputation when she published untrue allegations about her supposed illegal and immoral conduct.  She visits with her lawyer, they draw up a complaint and present it to the court in order to start the process of a lawsuit.

• Complaint (initial brief ) — Plaintiff S. Smith (with the help of her attorney) writes an initial  brief that lays out the facts, points out the law and precedents, and argues for a million dollar judgement against J. Johnson.
• This brief  is presented to a local circuit court as “Smith v Johnson.”   (The stand-alone v — without punctuation — is used in preference to vs or versus).
• The brief has five or six sections:

1. 1. Who is suing whom – parties to the complaint.
   2. Venue  – where the suit is filed and also that it  is being filed in the proper court and location, or venue;
   3. Facts of the case such as the occupations and addresses of the plaintiff and respondent,  the publication of a news article by Ms Johnson (the defendant / respondent) and the damages allegedly suffered by Ms Smith (the complainant / plaintiff).
   4. Legal arguments, including tests for libel (such as the NY Times v Sullivan standard), along with the precedents on which the case stands;
   5. Action requested, also called Prayer for Relief, which is a civil case is either an award of money or an injunction against a defendant or both. In appeals cases the relief requested may be to reverse the lower court verdict or to overturn a law as unconstitutional.

• The case is accepted by the local circuit court, and at the same time, Johnson is notified (“served” with a notice) about the lawsuit.   Now Johnson can take a variety of actions.
• An Answer or response, is drawn up by respondent (defendant) Johnson.  The answer may include preliminary motions, for example,  a motion for summary judgement on the basis of insufficient evidence, or possibly on an inaccurate reading of the law (called a demurrer). Other preliminary motions may include motions to suppress evidence illegally obtained, motions to change the venue (especially in the case where there has been unusual publicity) and motions to reschedule a trial to allow more time to prepare.
• Discovery of evidence, including witness depositions; There may also be interrogatories, or questions, presented to witnesses of both sides, again, before the trial starts. At this point, the court and both sides should know where they stand before an expensive trial begins.
• Out of Court Settlements are reached in 80-92% of lawsuits at this stage, since going into a full blown trial is expensive.
• Trial ordered — If a trial is requested and ordered, a date is set and all evidence is certified by the court.  Sometimes groups that are not named in the complaint but who have a stake in the trial may file a “friend of the court” (amicus) brief.
• Voir dire, or jury selection, involves an initial pool of jurors selected from voter registration lists. Each side hopes to include favorably-leaning jurors and exclude those who might not be predisposed towards their client.
• Trial –  Begins with opening statements, calls for witnesses from plaintiff (prosecution), witnesses for respondent (defense), closing statements and instructions to the jury.
• Evidence is weighed by judge or jury using appropriate tests (or standards) to the evidence.  At the trial court level, the outcome is a jury verdict. 
  • In a criminal case, the well-known test is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • In a civil case, the test is the preponderance of evidence.  
  • However, in a Constitutional law case involving the First Amendment, such as a libel case, claims by plaintiffs are judged under either a  strict scrutiny standard (for content-specific issues) or an intermediate scrutiny standard (for content neutral issues).  Other tests,  such as the Ollman test for fact / opinion in libel trials, or the Central Hudson test for advertising regulation, are applied in other kinds of cases.
    
• Smith wins and Johnson appeals. Now the case is now called Johnson v Smith
  
• Appeal — Either side can appeal a trial court decision to a higher court for a variety of legal reasons. There is a chain of appeals courts in both state and federal systems. A case heard by a state supreme court can be appealed to the US Supreme Court (as in New York Times v Sullivan).
  • At the federal appeals court level, usually only one judge presides, but on important cases they may preside “en banc” or with most or all judges.
• The appeals court reads the briefs, hears the oral arguments, and then issues an opinion. In our hypothetical case, Johnson wins and the appeals court decides to remand the case with instructions to lower court judge.
  • The decision could stand as a weak federal district precedent if the Supreme Court doesn’t grant certiorari.
• Supreme Court — Smith appeals to Supreme Court, which grants certiorari. Case is now Smith v Johnson again
• Supreme court decides case on basis of a majority of the nine justices, and the majority picks someone to write the opinion. The minority may also write dissent.
• Opinion — A court opinion may uphold the opinion of a lower court, or reverse a decision of a lower court. When the Supreme Court issues an opinion, the majority will issue the opinion, there may also be concurring opinions with different takes on the law, or dissenting opinions from different court members.
• Reverse & remand — A reversal of a decision often means that the case is remanded to a lower court to re-hear the case and reach a new decision based on the upper court’s instructions as expressed in the opinion.
•  The lower court re-hears arguments again and now makes a decision based on Supreme Court guidelines.  If Smith wins this case, a fine and court costs may be imposed on Johnson.