Aspects of Criminal Versus Civil Law
Introduction
Legal penalties for persons found guilty of crimes, including arson, assault, and theft, are established by criminal laws at the municipal, state, and federal levels. Only the criminal court system handles instances involving criminal law (Ross, 2018). Civil laws, on the other hand, deal with someone’s personal rights.
Discussion
Civil laws are used when someone’s rights have been infringed or when there is a disagreement between two people or groups of people. Examples of civil cases include disagreements between two businesses about contractual rights, cases of forgery, disagreements between parties regarding the ownership of the real estate, etc. The Business and Professions Code, the Health and Safety Code, and other guidelines and regulations serve as examples of the rules for civil proceedings. Certain civil law cases are resolved outside of a court of law, for example, by a third-party mediator.
In criminal proceedings, more proof is needed to establish guilt than in civil cases. To establish that the defendant meant to conduct the offense or already has, the prosecution must provide evidence beyond a reasonable doubt and fact. The sentence criteria established by existing criminal legislation must be followed by the court. The judge may use some discretion within such sentence parameters. Prison time, probation, and fines are all possible legal sanctions in a criminal case (Ross, 2018). Criminal proceedings typically carry harsher penalties than those in civil trials. A probability balance can be employed to resolve civil cases.
Conclusion
In civil proceedings, the state often plays no involvement, and if the suspect is found guilty, the guilty party must compensate the victims financially as directed by the civil court. Losses that may be measured, like medical expenses, can be compensated, and so can the more intangible losses, such as pain and suffering. Supplementary punitive damages may occasionally be granted by a jury.
Reference
Ross, D. L. (2018). Civil liability in criminal justice. Routledge.