Table of Contents

Federal Court System

Introduction: § E. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CIVIL CASES AND CRIMINAL CASES?

E. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CIVIL CASES AND CRIMINAL CASES?

Civil cases are different from criminal cases.  Civil cases usually involve disputes between persons or organizations while criminal cases involve some criminal action that is considered to be harmful to society as a whole.

  Lawyers use the term party or litigant to describe a participant in a civil case.  A person who claims that another person has filed to carry out a legal duty or violated his or her rights, such as those under the Constitution or other federal law, may ask the court to tell the person who violated the right to stop doing it and make compensation for any harm done.  For example, Congress has passed a law saying that people have a right not to be denied employment because of their gender.  Suppose an employer refuses to hire a woman as construction workers.  women who had applied and been qualified for jobs might bring a civil case against the employer--sue the employer--for lost wages and seek an order requiring the company to hire them.

  Another legal duty is the duty to honor contracts.  If a lumberyard promises to sell a specific amount of wood to a construction company for an agreed-upon price and then fils to deliver the wood, forcing the construction company to buy it elsewhere at a higher price, the construction company might sue the lumberyard for damages.

  When a court or jury determines that an individual committed a crime, that person may be fined, sent to prison, or placed under the supervision of a court employee called a U.S. probation officer, or some combination of these three things.  The person accused is charged in an indictment or information, which is a formal accusation that the person has committed a crime.  The government, on behalf of the people, prosecutes the case.  It is not the victim's responsibility to bring a criminal case.  In fact, there may not always be a specific victim.  For example, the federal government prosecutes people accused of violating federal laws against spying because of the danger spying presents to the country as a whole.  State governments arrest and prosecute people accused of violating laws against drunk driving because society regards drunk driving as a serious offense that can result in harm to innocent bystanders.