10 Feb Criminal Charges Vs. Civil Charges
One of the things that makes the American legal system confusing is that we have both criminal charges and civil charges.
Criminal charges are a straightforward part of the legal process. If you break the law, you’re arrested and criminal charges are filed against you. You have the option of pleading guilty to these charges. If you don’t plead guilty, the case goes to trial and a jury will decide if you’re guilty.
Civil charges are more complicated. Civil charges involve the victims of the crime. The civil court provides victims with an opportunity to do two things. First, they can face the person who they believe impacted the quality of their life. The second thing civil charges do is provide the victims with an opportunity to seek financial retribution.
If you’re unlucky enough to be hit with both criminal and civil charges, you’ll quickly notice that the two cases are handled quite differently.
- The punishment in criminal cases usually involves fines/jail time/community service/probation
- The punishment in civil cases is always financial
- There is a different standard of proof in civil and criminal cases
- Defendants in criminal cases have different guaranteed protections
- Juries are only used in very specific civil cases, most of the time it’s the judge who makes the final civil case ruling
One of the things the O.J. Simpson case proved was that even if you’re not found guilty of the crime in a criminal case, you can be found guilty during a civil case. The reason you’re\e/e O.cin vepNv cl>