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Criminal Law
Criminal law deals with intentional crimes against individuals and also in a more collective form: for instance in the event of a break-in or home intrusion, the act not only violates the privacy and security of the homeowner, it also undermines the collective sense that people are safe in their homes. Such crimes violate not only the victim, but the community as well and therefore they are also crimes against us all.
How Do I define Criminal Law?
In this sense, criminal law deals with criminal offenses and the specific legal punishments as determined by law. When the punishments are issued under the confines of the law, criminal law maintains the stability of the state and society by ensuring offenders are punished and other would-be offenders are deterred from committing similar crimes.
Civil Law
Civil law settles disputes between private parties in instances where negligence causes harm to others. For instance if a worker was wrongfully terminated from their job, they may decide to file a lawsuit against the company or their employer seeking compensation. Likewise, failure to exercise the degree of caution or prudence that a person would normally exercise in certain circumstances may result in a negligence claim.
Who Pursues Civil Crimes?
Depending on the circumstances, if a person has suffered harm or injustice, they may file for a lawsuit against the parties involved. Divorce cases, parental responsibility, spousal support, division of property and other family law cases represent a portion of the civil cases presented to the courts. Other forms of civil cases include allegations of medical malpractice, decisions involving administrative tribunals and distribution of real estate and assets involving a deceased person.
How Do I Define Civil Law?
It can be defined as a branch of law that settles disputes between organizations or individuals, in which compensation is awarded to the perceived victim. The judge settles sensitive cases between groups of people, individuals, companies, etc, and when one party is found guilty, compensation is agreed upon.
Glaring Differences
Perhaps the most obvious difference between the two branches of law is the fact that civil law cases are filed by private parties while criminal cases are filed by the state or government. A judge determines the outcome in civil cases whereas a jury determines the outcome of criminal cases.
Cases
In civil law, the standard of proof is “preponderance of evidence” which essentially means the claimant is required to produce enough evidence to tip the balance of probability. In criminal law, the evidence presented to the court has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is in fact guilty of the crime presented against them. When found guilty, the defendant facing a lawsuit in civil law is required to provide compensation usually in the form of financial aid; and the sum is determined by the judge.
Guilty defendants in criminal law are subject to custodial or non-custodial punishments as determined by the jury. Non custodial punishments may include fines and community service and in very exceptional cases, the death penalty may be issued against a defendant.
Jury opinion
In civil law cases, the jury's opinion does not have to be unanimous but laws may vary from one area to another. The criminal justice system requires that the jury agree unanimously before the defendant gets convicted. Laws are subject to revision which is why punishments issued against defendants may vary in different locations. In order to understand what options the law presents in both fields of law, it is advisable to hire an attorney and let them handle the specifics.
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