Legal System

Task 1 In medieval England where common law first developed, kings could decide what they wanted and order people to obey. For centuries to come they continued to do this, albeit with diminishing authority. The common laws which were developed and applied by succeeding judgments were, meant to regulate the lives of individuals living in society rather than imposing laws from above. Commentators contrasts this to civil code system in which the best interests of society itself made up of individual citizens is of paramount importance in deciding laws and imposing rules of good behavior on individuals 1.1 Analyze the difference between criminal law and civil law by referring to the criminal and civil courts in general with their respective jurisdictions. (P1.1, M3.1)

Civil law and criminal law are two broad and separate entities of law with separate sets of laws and punishments.

According to William Geldart, Introduction to English Law 146 (D.C.M. Yardley ed., 9th ed. 1984), "The difference between civil law and criminal law turns on the difference between two different objects which law seeks to pursue - redress or punishment. The object of civil law is the redress of wrongs by compelling compensation or restitution: the wrongdoer is not punished; he only suffers so much harm as is necessary to make good the wrong he has done. The person who has suffered gets a definite benefit from the law, or at least he avoids a loss. On the other hand, in the case of crimes, the main object of the law is to punish the wrongdoer; to give him and others a strong inducement not to commit same or similar crimes, to reform him if possible and perhaps to satisfy the public sense that wrongdoing ought to meet with retribution. Examples of criminal law include cases of burglary, assault, battery and cases of murder. Civil law applies to cases of negligence or malpractice, for example.

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Civil Law
Burden of proof: "Preponderance of evidence" Burden of proof is initially on the plaintiff and then switches to the defendants. Civil law deals with the disputes between individuals, organizations, or between the two, in which compensation is awarded to the victim. A defendant in civil litigation is never incarcerated and never executed. Losing defendant in civil litigation only reimburses the plaintiff for losses caused by the defendants behavior. Either party (plaintiff or defendant) can be found at fault. By private party. Landlord/tenant disputes, divorce proceedings, child custody proceedings, property disputes (real estate or material), etc. Either party may appeal a decision in a civil suit.

Criminal Law
"Beyond a reasonable doubt": Burden of proof is always on the state/government. Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. A guilty defendant is punished by either incarceration in a jail or fine paid to the government, or, in exceptional cases, the death penalty. Crimes are divided into two broad classes: Felonies and Misdemeanors. Defendant can be found guilty or not. By government. Theft (by deception or unlawful taking), assault, robbery, wanton endangerment, trafficking in controlled substances, alcohol intoxication, etc. Only the defendant may appeal a court ruling in a criminal case. The prosecution cannot appeal if the defendant is found not guilty.

Definition:

Type of punishment:

Case filed: Examples:

Appeal:

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Jury:

6-12 jury members possible. All must reach a verdict in which 2/3 of the jurors agree.

12 jury members required for federal cases and by most states. Decision must be unanimous. If an agreement cannot be reached the court will declare a mistrial.

Cases
In civil law, a case commences when a complaint is filed by a party, which may be an individual, an organization, a company or a corporation, against another party. The party complaining is called the plaintiff and the party responding is called the defendant and the process is called litigation. In civil litigation, the plaintiff is asking the court to order the defendant to remedy a wrong, often in the form of monetary compensation to the plaintiff. In contrast, in criminal law, the case is filed by the government, usually referred to as the State and represented by a prosecutor, against a defendant. An individual can never file criminal charges against another person: an individual may report a crime, but only the government can file criminal charges in court. Crimes are activities punishable by the government and are divided into two broad classes of seriousness: felonies having a possible sentence of more than one year incarceration and misdemeanors having a possible sentence of one year or less incarceration.

Punishment
One of the notable differences between civil law and criminal law is the punishment. In case of criminal law a person found guilty is punished by incarceration in a prison, a fine, or in some occasions death penalty. Whereas, in case of civil law the losing party has to reimburse the plaintiff, the amount of loss which is determined by the judge and is called punitive damage. A criminal litigation is more serious than civil litigation in that criminal defendants have more rights and protections than a civil defendant.

Burdens of proof
In case of criminal law, the burden of proof lies with the government in order to prove that the defendant is guilty. On the other hand, in case of civil law the burden of proof first lies with the plaintiff and then with the defendant to refute the evidence provided by the plaintiffs. In case of civil litigation if the judge or jury believes that there are more than 50% of the evidence favoring the plaintiffs, then plaintiffs win, which is very low as compared to 99% proof for criminal law. In case of criminal law, defendant is not declared guilty unless there are approximately more than 99% proofs against him.

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How the system works

One can say that criminal law deals with looking after public interests. It involves punishing and rehabilitating offenders, and protecting the society. The police and prosecutor are hired by the government to put the criminal law into effect. Public funds are used to pay for these services. If suppose you are the victim of the crime, you report it to the police and then it is their duty to investigate the matter and find the suspect . In most cases, if a charge has been properly presented and if there is evidence supporting it, the Government, not the person who complains of the incident, prosecutes it in the courts. This is called a system of public prosecutions. On the other hand, civil law is about private disputes between individuals or between an individual and an organization or between organizations. Civil law deals with the harm, loss, or injury to one party or the other. A defendant in a civil case is found liable or not liable for damages, while in a criminal case defendant may be found guilty or not.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS FOR THE CRIMINAL DEFENDANT

The United States Constitution and its subsequent amendments define the scope of governmental power and reserve certain individual rights to the people. The first 10 amendments, also called the Bill of Rights, contain basic, fundamental rights of individuals on which the government may not impinge. Many of these constitutional rights provide protection to criminal defendants in the criminal-justice system. The 14th Amendment extends substantive due-process rights beyond the federal system to criminal defendants in state courts, where the vast majority of criminal trials occur. The basic constitutional rights of the criminal defendant permeate almost every aspect of the criminal-justice process. If you have been accused of a crime, whether federal, state, tribal or local, a criminal defense attorney from Robert F. Rider PLC in Roanoke, VA, can explain these rights to you and help you to fight for them at every step of the way.

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Fundamental Rights
Here are the main federal constitutional rights guaranteed to criminal defendants in the United States to promote fair trials. Remember that these rights have been refined and interpreted by the courts, and a lawyer can advise you about each right's role in and application to your particular case.