Criminal Law Information

According to criminal law, crimes are offences against the social order. In common law jurisdictions, there is a legal fiction that crimes disturb the peace of the sovereign. Government officials, as agents of the sovereign, are responsible for the prosecution of offenders. Hence, the criminal law “plaintiff” is the sovereign, which in practical terms translates into the monarch or the people.

The major objective of criminal law is deterrence and punishment, while that of civil law is individual compensation. Criminal offences consist of two distinct elements; the physical act (the actus reus, guilty act) and the requisite mental state with which the act is done (the mens rea, guilty mind). For example, in murder the ‘actus reus is the unlawful killing of a person, while the ‘mens rea is malice aforethought (the intention to kill or cause grievous injury). The criminal law also details the defenses that defendants may bring to lessen or negate their liability (criminal responsibility) and specifies the punishment which may be inflicted. Criminal law neither requires a victim, nor a victim’s consent, to prosecute an offender. Furthermore, a criminal prosecution can occur over the objections of the victim and the consent of the victim is not a defense in most crimes.

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Consequences of a Crime Under Criminal Law

The concept of punishment makes a major distinction between criminal law and civil law. While in civil law there is no prosecution per se; rather a reimbursement to the plaintiff by the losing defendant, in criminal law a guilty defendant is punished by imprisonment, fines, or the death penalty. In criminal law, maximum sentences on felonies could go to up to a jail term of one year and for misdemeanors a maximum sentence of less than one year. A civil case conducted under tort law can lead to punitive damages if the defendant’s conduct is proved to have intentions for malicious action (cause harm), negligence, willful disregard to other people’s rights.

Compensation for the Plaintiff under Criminal Law

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Civil Vs Criminal Law Suits

A civil lawsuit occurs when a victim brings a case for money damages against the defendant for causing emotional or physical injuries. The person who files the lawsuit is called the plaintiff and the defendant is the party against whom the lawsuit has been filed. In civil lawsuits, judges and juries try to reach a verdict as to whether or not the allegation is true, rather than whether someone is “guilty” or “not guilty.” The plaintiff usually hires an attorney, and the attorney’s fee is deducted from the final award. In order to win a civil law suit there must be a great amount of evidence to prove to the court that what the victim is saying really did happen. In a civil case, the victim can appeal if the court does not find is his or her favor. In a criminal case, by contrast, an acquittal (or a “not guilty” verdict) cannot be appealed. The standards of proof differ from criminal cases, as do the legal processes. Details vary from state to state.

Civil lawyers, or lawyers who focus on civil rather than criminal cases, sometimes work alone or in practices with other civil lawyers. They only take cases in jurisdictions where they are licensed to practice. All plaintiffs who file for civil law cases are always advised to find lawyers who have experience in the types of claims they are planning to file. Most civil lawyers have paralegals, legal assistants, private investigators, and secretaries to assist in the cases they take on. The results of a civil law suit do not depend on who is “right” or “wrong” according to moral standards, but are based on the laws governing the type of case before the court.

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