Civil and Criminal Liability: Key Differences and Procedural Frameworks

Overview of Civil and Criminal Cases

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 are regarded as harmful to society as a whole, as opposed to a single individual. This paper 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 or 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. For instance, consider a lumberyard and a carpenter who enter into a contract where the lumberyard is to supply a specific quantity of wood to the carpenter for a specified period of time. If the lumberyard fails to deliver the wood 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 and 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.

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, the parties to a criminal case are the state and the defendant. In a rape incident, for instance, the prosecutor, acting for the state, would bring suit against the defendant, and the victim herself would not be a 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 or she suffered damages as a direct result of the defendant's action or actions (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 offenses less blameworthy (Find Law, 2014b). In most cases, plaintiffs are required to prove the defendant's guilt only on the balance of probabilities.

Punishment and Penalties

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 and seizures, and the presumption of innocence, where one is taken to be innocent until proven guilty (Find Law, 2014b). Defendants in civil cases are not entitled to representation and are forced to either pay for an attorney or defend themselves if they cannot afford one (Find Law, 2014b). Furthermore, most civil cases are heard by a judge, as opposed to a jury (Find Law, 2014b).

Civil and Criminal Liability from the Same Conduct

Evidently, the legal system treats civil and criminal cases quite differently. However, it is still possible for a defendant to face trial in both a criminal courtroom and a civil courtroom and to consequently be found innocent in the former and legally liable in the latter. The O.J. Simpson case is a perfect example of such an occurrence—the defendant was acquitted of first-degree murder charges in the criminal proceedings but was held legally liable for causing the victims' wrongful deaths in the civil action (Find Law, 2014b). Such contradictions usually come about as a result of the differing standards of proof in civil and criminal proceedings.

In the O.J. Simpson case, for instance, the prosecution was seemingly unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was driven by both premeditation and malice. As a result, the defendant was acquitted of first-degree murder charges. However, in the civil case for wrongful death filed by the plaintiffs, the standard of preponderance of evidence, which requires plaintiffs to show that there is at least a 50 percent likelihood that something happened in a certain way, was applied. The civil jury found it highly likely that O.J. had caused the deaths of the victims.