What is the Difference Between a Civil and Criminal Case?

Criminal law generally involves government action and punishment for violation of criminal laws including prison and fines. Civil law generally involves individual people suing each other for money or rights.

Introduction

Civil law and criminal law are part of our daily lives. Civil law provides us a system for resolving disputes.

Civil law can restore losses or compensate for damages that result from harm. Civil law also enforces private rights, property rights, contracts, and more. Criminal law is designed to uphold public safety. It defines crimes and determines what their punishments should be. Although they both serve the public, civil law and criminal law differ in key ways. Read on to learn more.

Core Differences

In civil cases, the plaintiff files the lawsuit against the defendant. The outcome the plaintiff seeks is to stop the harm or compensate for the harm caused. The compensation is usually “damages,” which is a payment of money from the defendant to the plaintiff. In criminal cases, the government prosecutes the defendant. In federal criminal cases, the case is titled “United States v. [       ]” while state criminal cases are titled “The People of the State of ____ [       ] v. [       ].” The outcome that the United States or the People seek is punishment for a violation of the law, and restitution for the victim of a crime. 

Across the country, the different goals of civil and criminal cases highlight another distinction: civil cases generally require a victim and harm. Otherwise, there would be no damages to seek. By contrast, criminal cases can be victimless or without harm. For example, someone can violate firearms law for keeping their gun in their car’s glovebox. Although they did not use their gun to harm someone, they can be charged with a crime in California. (See Firearms in CA Article) The goal here would be to deter criminal behavior and protect the public from harm. 

Burden of Proof

Another key difference is the burden of proof required in civil and criminal cases. For a civil case, the burden of proof is lower. It is called a preponderance of evidence. A preponderance of evidence means that the allegations are more likely to be true than not true. A common analogy for this standard is 51% of the weight in favor of the plaintiff and 49% in favor of the defendant. For criminal cases, the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a much higher burden for the prosecution to prove to a jury.  

Level of Protection

In the context of trial, criminal defendants have more legal protection than civil defendants. A criminal defendants’ liberty is at stake. Liberty warrants higher protection. There are Constitutional Amendments that specifically protect the criminally accused. The 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments provide criminal defendants with due process rights, including the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney if they cannot afford one, protection against excessive bail or fines, and more. By contrast, the 7th Amendment specifically references civil law, guaranteeing the right to a civil jury trial. Closely related is the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the civil right of equal protection of the laws. Yet there is a clear difference in the level of Constitutional protections applied to trial. For instance, a criminal defendant does not have to testify at all. A civil defendant who cannot afford a lawyer won’t  be granted a public defender, but a criminal defendant charged with a felony will be granted one. 

Conclusion

In sum, civil and criminal law differ significantly: 

	Criminal Law	Civil Law
Purpose	To regulate conduct in order to protect public interest.	To enforce private rights and resolve civil disputes.
Goal	To deter criminal behavior and protect the public from harm	To make the victim “whole”
Burden of Proof	Beyond Reasonable Doubt	Preponderance of Evidence
Does there have to be a victim or harm?	No	Yes, generally (with some exceptions)

However, both civil and criminal law are designed to serve the public. While civil law enforces private rights, criminal law enforces public interest. Indeed, there are circumstances where a civil lawsuit and criminal prosecution arise for the same set of facts. For example, if a person commits a hit and run crime, and the victim is injured—there can be a criminal prosecution for the hit and run and a civil lawsuit for the injury. Moreover, this does not violate double jeopardy (the right to not be prosecuted twice for the same charge). Clearly, every case is unique and there is always more to learn.