What is the difference between civil and criminal law?

The main contrasts

• Who brings the case. A prosecutor on behalf of the state or the United States, versus the injured person or business. In a criminal case the victim is a witness; in a civil case the injured party controls the lawsuit and can settle or drop it.
• Standard of proof. Beyond a reasonable doubt, versus a preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not. Some civil matters, such as fraud or termination of parental rights, use an intermediate clear-and-convincing standard.
• Outcome. Punishment and a criminal record, versus damages, an injunction or a declaration of rights.
• Right to a lawyer. Appointed counsel if you cannot afford one when jail is possible; in civil cases you usually pay for your own, with narrow exceptions. Many civil lawyers work on contingency.
• Jury. Required for serious criminal offenses and needing a unanimous verdict; available in many civil cases, sometimes with a non-unanimous verdict, but often waived or unavailable in family and equity matters.
• Self-incrimination. A criminal defendant cannot be forced to testify and silence cannot be held against them. In a civil case a party can be required to answer questions, and invoking the Fifth Amendment can allow the jury to draw a negative inference.

Examples side by side

Assault: the state prosecutes the attacker (criminal); the victim sues for medical bills and pain (civil). Theft by an employee: the prosecutor charges embezzlement; the employer sues to recover the money. A fatal drunk-driving crash: a vehicular homicide prosecution and a wrongful-death lawsuit by the family. A landlord-tenant dispute, a divorce, a breach of contract or a car accident with no crime involved are purely civil.

Why both can follow one event

An acquittal does not block the civil claim, because the civil plaintiff has a lower bar to clear — the best-known example is O.J. Simpson, acquitted of murder in 1995 and found liable for wrongful death in 1997. A conviction, on the other hand, often helps the civil case: many states treat it as conclusive or strong evidence of the underlying facts, and a guilty plea can be used as an admission. Civil cases are often put on hold while the criminal case is pending, so the defendant is not forced to choose between defending the lawsuit and keeping silent.

Procedure differs too

Civil cases have broad discovery — depositions, document demands, interrogatories — and most end in settlement. Criminal discovery is narrower, although the prosecution must hand over evidence favorable to the defendant (Brady v. Maryland, 1963), and most cases end in a plea bargain. Criminal cases also carry speedy-trial rights; civil cases can take years.

Watch

Areas that blur the line

• Civil forfeiture lets the government take property linked to crime without convicting its owner.
• Restitution is ordered in a criminal case but compensates the victim.
• Protective orders are civil orders whose violation is a crime.
• Regulatory violations — environmental, securities, tax — can be pursued civilly, criminally or both.
• Contempt of court can be civil (to force compliance) or criminal (to punish).

Deadlines

Each type has its own statute of limitations. Criminal deadlines vary by offense — some serious crimes have none — while civil deadlines are commonly two or three years for injuries and longer for contracts. The civil deadline keeps running even while a criminal case is pending, so a victim waiting for the criminal case to finish can lose the right to sue.

Which lawyer you need

If you are charged with a crime, you need a criminal defense lawyer or a public defender. If you were harmed and want compensation, you need a civil lawyer in the relevant field — personal injury, employment, business litigation. When the same event creates both kinds of case, the two lawyers should coordinate, because what is said in one case can be used in the other.

Both kinds of case can also end with a record: criminal convictions appear on background checks, and civil judgments appear in public court records.