Criminal Justice System: Criminal Cases and Civil Cases Civil and Criminal Liability

Civil cases are private disputes arising between individuals following violations of legal responsibilities owed to each other. Criminal cases, on the other hand, involve wrongs committed against the state, and which are regarded as harmful to society as a whole, as opposed to a single individual. This text compares civil and criminal cases with the aim of identifying differences and similarities, as well as the role played by either in the administration of justice.

Parties Involved: a civil case begins when an aggrieved party (plaintiff) brings suit against another party (defendant) for failing to honor a legal responsibility owed to him/her. In this scenario, the case is filed at the state or federal court by the wronged party, and both the defendant and the plaintiff are referred to as 'litigants' or 'parties to the suit' (Find Law, 2014). Failing to live up to a contract is one of the most common contributors to civil cases. We can take, for instance, the example of a lumberyard and a carpenter, who enter into a contract where the former is to supply a specific quantity of wood to the latter for a specified period of time -- if the lumberyard fails to deliver the same as agreed upon and the carpenter is consequently forced to buy the wood from another vendor, perhaps at a higher price, the carpenter could sue the lumberyard for damages, where he could petition the court to order the defendant to pay the extra costs incurred (Find Law, 2014a). The government and corporations can also file civil cases; for instance, the government could bring a civil suit against a medical facility for overbilling Medicaid or Medicare (Find Law, 2014).

In criminal cases, however, it is not the aggrieved party's duty to bring suit against the defendant. This duty is taken over by the government through either the federal or the state prosecutor's office. Unlike in a civil case, therefore,...

In a rape incident for instance, the prosecutor, acting for the state, would bring suit against the rapist, and the victim herself would not be party to the criminal action (Find Law, 2014).
Burden and Standard of Proof: the burden of proof can be defined as "the duty placed upon a party to prove or disprove a disputed fact" (The Legal Dictionary, 2014, n.pag). In criminal cases, this burden is charged on the prosecution -- the state or federal prosecutor must demonstrate that the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt (The Legal Dictionary, 2014). In civil proceedings, on the other hand, the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff, who has to prove that he/she suffered damages as a direct result of the defendant's action (s) (The Legal Dictionary 2014). The standard of proof is, however, usually lower in civil cases particularly because the punishments are often less severe and the offences less blameworthy (Find Law, 2014b). In most cases, plaintiffs are required to only prove the defendant's guilt on the balance of probabilities.

Punishment: criminal cases usually attract more stringent penalties than civil action. Probation, incarceration, jail terms, and monetary fines are potential punishments in criminal cases. Civil cases, on the other hand, will often only result in orders to either do or not do something, or in some circumstances, monetary damages (Find Law, 2014b). Penalties for criminal action will often result in the loss of personal freedom on the side of the defendant, which is why they are considered more severe.

Constitutional Protections: the stakes are much higher in criminal proceedings compared to civil ones, and for this reason, the legal system places safeguards geared at protecting the rights of defendants in criminal cases. These include the right to a jury trial, entitlement to an attorney; Fourth Amendment protections against illegal and unwarranted searches…