Expert: Robin Sexton - 6/6/2008

Question
what is criminallaw and how does it differ from civil law and private law

Answer
Victor,

Criminal law is defined by statute and are listed in the states criminal code or penal code.  Violations of the criminal code are processed through the appropriate criminal court.  Punishment can include fines and or prison or jail sentence. It is written as acts against the state.  That is why the title of the case in court is
Smith vs the State of Michigan.

Civil law is an act, tort or disagreement between two individuals or entities.  Punishment is limited to costs, fees and awards.  A lot of crimes can also be handled in a civil action. Many frauds also have a comparative civil aspect.

In civil cases a person is sued
In a criminal case a person is arrested

In a civil case the proofs in most cases is a preponderance of the evidence. More likely then not.
In a criminal case the proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. Almost assured.

In criminal cases the action is brought by a government prosecuting authority

In civil cases the actions are normally brought by private attorneys and by individuals.  Sometimes states can be party to civil action also.

Hope that helps  a little


Robin