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 party.
• Standard of proof. Beyond a reasonable doubt, versus a preponderance of the evidence — more likely than not. Some civil matters 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 liberty is at stake; in civil cases you pay for your own, with narrow exceptions.
• Jury. Available for serious offences; available in many civil cases but often waived or unavailable in family and equity matters.

Why both can follow one event

A drunk driver may be prosecuted by the state and sued by the people they hit. An acquittal does not block the civil claim, because the civil plaintiff has a lower bar to clear. A conviction, on the other hand, often helps the civil case: many states treat it as conclusive proof of the underlying facts.

Procedure differs too

Civil cases have broad discovery — depositions, document demands, interrogatories — and most end in settlement. Criminal discovery is narrower and one-directional in important respects, and most cases end in a plea.