WHAT IS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CIVIL LAW AND CRIMINAL LAW?WHAT PROOF IS NEEDED TO BE FOUND GUILTY IN BOTH?

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Bette P October 28, 2011 at 2:04 am

Civil law deals with the consequences of an act and the burden of proof is a “preponderance of the evidence.” This is easier than the burden of proof in criminal law, which is beyond a reasonable doubt. Criminal law involves acts of violence leading to injury or death of the victim. This is the “short answer.”

flirtygirl October 28, 2011 at 3:03 am

In civil law the only punishments are financial ones (a.k.a people get sued), while in criminal law the punishments go all the way up to the death penalty in some states. As for proof needed to be found guilty… to me that seems like kind of a general question; it will vary depending on the case. But they do say to the jury that the prosecution must prove the defendant guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

shorte716 October 28, 2011 at 3:05 am

civil law is bancruptcy, criminal law is like murder. the facts

butrcupps October 28, 2011 at 3:59 am

In criminal law, obviously a crime has been committed. The state is prosecuting, jail time could be involved and you are acquitted if there is reasonable doubt.

In civil law, you are being sued by someone for monetary damages due to negligence or accident and you only need a preponderance of the evidence (that is is more likely that it happened than not).

BOO October 28, 2011 at 4:26 am

Civil Law in mostly for monetary value of a personal or company property. It can also be because of a breach of a contract where money is involved that involves a car, a house, getting furniture, or anything like that and it had to repossesed and the company or person(s) want it back or took it back and still want the money still owed to be paid for.

Criminal Law is where u break the laws of the land. Whether it be traffic related or murder. That can mean if u are caught doing 65 in a 35 you may have to go to court to explain or despute the charges. If the cops pulled u over and suspected that you or your passengers may have something in the car and searched it and found either a concealed weapon or possession of illegal substances in the car and you were and others were arrested u know u have to go to court for it.

Like the law says, ” you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” To be found guilty of either court system is basicly what evidence is presented against you and whether or not you can prove beyond a shadow of doubt that you aren’t guilty of what you are being accused of. Civil is basicly the evidence what the company or person(s) have against you showing what you owe and any contract that you signed stating that you would pay on any porperty or service provided.
Criminal is the evidence collected against you while you were in the area or not at the time the police or agency found it and found that you and others were apart of the crime in progress or after the fact. Traffic is the most common evidence where the cops actually saw the crime being committed. Anything else like that is a legal search and seizure and mostly the person(s) are there to witness the police searching their car and give them permission to do so. Well I hope that this helps u to know the difference between the two. I took almost 2 years of Criminal Justice in school and my mother worked in the Department of Corrections for 33 years so I know this stuff like the back of my hand.

magpieix October 28, 2011 at 4:37 am

Boo made two glaring errors in your answer.

The first is that the law does not require “beyond a shadow of a doubt” in either criminal or civil cases. In criminal cases the requirement is “beyond reasonable doubt” and in civil it is “proponderence of proof”

The second is when you say “whether or not you can prove beyond a shadow of doubt that you aren’t guilty of what you are being accused of.” This is absolutely false. The defendent is never required to prove that they aren’t guilty–the prosecution ALWAYS has the onus to prove that you are.

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