20+ Differences between Civil cases and Criminal cases (Explained)

Civil and Criminal cases are two terms used to name different legal cases in the United States of America (USA). Both terms sound like synonyms and are often used interchangeably, possibly due to various similarities.

However, the major difference between civil and criminal cases is that the former is used to address personal or business matters. In contrast, the latter is used to address societal matters. 

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Key Differences 

Civil cases

1. These cases usually reflect personal or business problems instead of societal problems. 
2. These types of cases are against a specific person or organization.
3. The punishment for these cases is given in the form of financial penalties. 
4. Self-representation takes place if a person can not afford an attorney. 

Criminal cases

1. These cases usually reflect societal matters, such as if anyone commits kidnapping or murder, he is a danger to society. 
2. Since these cases represent societal matters, they are against a state. 
3. The punishment for these cases is given as life imprisonment/death penalty and monetary penalties. 
4. A person is provided an attorney if he can not get one due to financial issues. 

Comparison Between Civil Cases And Criminal Cases

Parameter	Civil Cases	Criminal Cases
Meaning	These cases are known for a person’s/organization’s fight against another person/organization. These cases usually affect specific people/organizations instead of society as a whole.	These cases are known for society’s fight against a person/organization. Along with affecting victims, these cases also affect society as a whole.
Targets	Targeting only specific people/organizations is the classic feature of Civil cases.	These cases always affect society as a whole instead of only victims and their families. This is because if any crime has been committed against someone, it will have the power to affect everyone in society in many ways.
Fought against (from the accused’s point of view).	These cases are fought against a particular person or organization as it does not concern people in Society.	These cases are fought against the state as they affect society as a whole.
Parties	The accused person/organization who has been alleged is known as the defendant, whereas the person/organization that puts allegations on someone is known as the plaintiff.	The accused person who has been alleged is referred to as the defendant, and the state that puts allegations on is known as the plaintiff.
Filing case	The procedure of filing a Civil case is pretty simple in comparison with Criminal cases. To file a Civil case, all one has to do is go to court and file it.	The procedure of filing a Criminal case is more complex. Filing a Criminal case should be reported to the police first and has to be investigated properly by the police. After this only, it becomes eligible to file the case.
Attorney	If the accused can not get an attorney, then he is not provided one by the authorities. Therefore, he has to represent himself.	If the accused can not get an attorney, then he is provided one by the concerned authorities. This is because Criminal cases are considered pretty severe, and a wrongful representation can cost the accused the death penalty.
Main question	These types of cases concern whether the accused is liable or not.	These types of cases concern whether the accused is guilty or not guilty.
Type of proof	To convince the judge, the plaintiff must present evidence representing more than 50 percent of the evidence being true. This is referred to as a “preponderance of the evidence.”	To convince the judge and the Jury, the plaintiff has to present a piece of evidence that clearly states that it is 100 percent true and there is no other explanation other way over the evidence. This is referred to as “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Burden of proof	In these cases, the person or the organization has to collect all the evidence and represent it in a way that shows the accused is guilty.	In these cases, the state has to stay all the evidence and provide the same without a reasonable doubt.
Punishment	The punishment of Civil cases is generally considered more lenient than that of Criminal cases as they affect only specific groups. Moreover, these cases are generally settled by a monetary penalty, and imprisonment is rarely imposed.	The punishment of these cases generally affects the safety of society; thus, the punishments are more severe than in Civil cases. The severest punishment a person can get for Criminal cases is the death penalty and some monetary penalty.
Decisional role	The judge decides whether the defendant is liable or not liable.	The Jury and the judge decide whether the defendant is guilty or not.
Outcomes	The outcomes of Civil cases can come in various forms. The most common ones include dismissal, settlement, and judgment in favor of the defendant or the plaintiff.	The outcomes of Criminal cases come in various forms, such as dismissal, nolle prosequi, not guilty, guilty, and plea agreement/bargain.
Examples	Rape, assault, robbery, kidnapping, murder, manslaughter, etc.	Defamation suits, cases relating to child custody, breach of contract, etc.

Major Differences Between Civil Cases And Criminal Cases

What exactly are Civil cases? 

Civil cases are concerned with crimes that not only occur against a specific person or organization but only affect that specific person or organization. And thus, they do not affect society as a whole. Due to this reason, when they are put on trial, they are always against the concerned party. 

Features of Civil cases 

1. The hallmark feature of Civil cases is that they are always against a specific person or organization instead of being against society as a whole. 
2. In civil cases, the plaintiff is the person or organization who has put the allegations on the defendant. The defendant is the person who the plaintiff has alleged. 
3. The burden of proof is on the concerned person or organization. 
4. These cases rarely result in imprisonment or the death penalty. Largely, they are settled with financial penalties. 
5. Unlike normal cases, these cases typically do not include Jury. Instead, the decision is solely taken by the judge. 
6. Here the main question is not if the defendant is guilty or not; instead, the main question is whether the defendant is liable. 

What exactly are Criminal cases? 

Criminal cases are concerned with the crimes that occur against a person/persons or organization(s) but affect society as a whole.

For example, if there have been incidents of serial rapes in a society, then it affects the whole society instead of just the victims. Due to this reason, when they are put on trial, they are always held against the concerned state instead of the concerned victims. 

Features of Criminal cases 

1. The classic feature of these cases is that they are always against the state. They do affect a particular person/people, or organization(s), but they also affect society as a whole. 
2. In criminal cases, the plaintiff is the people or the state that alleges the defendant. On the other hand, the defendant is the person who is accused of those allegations. 
3. The state has to take care of the burden of proof.
4. These cases often end with imprisonment and even the death penalty. Along with that, some form of financial penalty may also be applied. 
5. Unlike Civil cases, the Jury has a significant role in the trial of criminal cases.
6. Here the main question is whether the accused is guilty or not. 

The Contrast Between Civil Cases And Criminal Cases 

Meaning

• Civil cases are those done towards a particular person or organization. These cases reflect the matters or disputes that affect only a person or an organization and are usually not considered a threat to society. 

• Criminal cases are cases against society and a country’s legal system. These cases reflect the matters or disputes that affect society as a whole and are a major threat to the same. 

Targets

• Civil cases – The classic feature of such cases is that they do not target society as a whole. They only concern specific persons/people or organization(s). Therefore, these can be considered more personal disputes instead of societal disputes. 

• Criminal cases – The hallmark feature of such types of cases is that they target everyone in society. Here, it is not necessary that everyone is the victim living in a society, but everyone is somehow affected by living in the concerned society. 

Matter

• Civil cases – These cases are also considered business or personal matters. Let us understand why with an example. For example, suppose a needed surgery results in the death of a patient due to a complication, and the patient’s family files a Civil case against the hospital. In that case, such a situation is considered personal and business. It can not be considered societal, as any hospital or doctor is not a threat to anyone in society. 

• Criminal cases – These cases are also considered societal problems because the accused affect everyone in society. For example, if there is a serial rapist in a region, it affects not only his victims but all other women living there. They are scared to go out, and their families can not leave them alone. Thus, they become societal matters. 

Against

• Civil cases – Since these cases do not affect the whole society but a specific person/organization, they are held against only the concerned person or organization. 

• Criminal cases – Since these cases affect the whole society, they are held against the state. This is because, along with the victims, the accused might be a threat to the whole society; along with the victims getting justice, it is equally important to keep the society and society members safe. 

Parties

• Civil cases – Parties involved in these cases are the plaintiff and defendant. The person or organization who imposes allegations on someone or some company is referred to as the plaintiff, and the person or organization who the plaintiff has alleged is referred to as the defendant. 

• Criminal cases – Just like Civil cases, the parties involved in these cases are the plaintiff and defendant. Here it is the state that imposes allegations on the accused, so it is the state that is the plaintiff. And the person who has been accused is referred to as the defendant. 

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Parties involved in Civil and Criminal Cases: 

• Plaintiff: It can best be described as someone who puts allegations against someone. In simple terms, a Plaintiff is an accuser. 
• Defendant: It can be best described as an individual the plaintiff alleged. In simple terms, a Defendant is an accused. 

Filing of case

• Civil cases – Anyone who wants to file a Civil case against a particular person or organization can do so by just filing a case in a court. 

• Criminal cases – If anyone wants to file a Criminal case against someone, then the procedure of doing so is completely different from that of a Civil case. The procedure of filing a Criminal case starts with filing a report with the police first. Then the whole matter has to be properly investigated by the concerned authorities; only then a Criminal case can be filed. 

Attorney

• Civil cases – If anyone cannot get an attorney due to his financial issues, then he is not provided one by the concerned authorities. This is because these cases typically involve only the concerned parties, and the punishment is often in the form of money. Hence, there is no urgent need to provide a party with an attorney. In such cases, the parties have no choice but to represent themselves. 

• Criminal cases– In case of Criminal cases, if someone cannot get an attorney due to financial issues, then an attorney is provided by the concerned authorities. This is because these cases are considered pretty serious, and a wrong representation may result in a false outcome which may even cost a defendant his life. 

Main question

• Civil cases – Here, the case’s main question is whether or not the defendant is liable. This is because these types of cases are filed largely because of the business and related monetary problems. 

• Criminal cases – Here, the main question of the case is whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. This is because these cases are not held due to monetary problems; instead, these cases are filed to get the victims justice in the form of the imprisonment of the accused. 

Type of proof

• Civil cases – These cases demand proof that is a “preponderance of the evidence.” What that means is here, the trial demands the plaintiff party to show a shred of evidence that states that there are at least 50 percent chances of the shown evidence being true.  

• Criminal cases – These cases demand proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Here, the trial demands proof by the state that clearly states why and how the accused is guilty, and there is no way one can think that the accused did that in a non-guilty way. 

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The preponderance of the evidence is a form of proof that is most commonly used in the trials of civil cases. This form of proof states that it demands the plaintiff to gather and represent the evidence that clearly states their allegations have an equal to or more than 51% chance of happening. 

Beyond a reasonable doubt is another form of proof that is most commonly used in the trials of criminal cases. As per this proof, the plaintiff party must gather and represent the evidence to show that there is none other than this explanation of the events happening. The plaintiff must convince the judge and Jury to believe so. It should be shown in such a way that clearly states it is the 100% true representation of the crime committed by the defendant. 

Burden of proof

• Civil cases – Here, the person or organization who has filed charges against the defendant has to bear the burden of proof. All the work that has to be done by him, ranging from collecting the evidence to proving that it is true, is his job as he is the only one affected by the defendant’s actions. 

• Criminal cases – Here, it is the duty of the state to bear the burden of proof. It’s only their job to collect the evidence and prove everything beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Punishment

• Civil cases – When a defendant is proven liable, he has to face monetary penalties. Largely, most Civil cases are settled by monetary penalties, but in some cases, a short period of imprisonment might be imposed on the liable. 

• Criminal cases – The punishment of Criminal cases is way stricter than the punishment of Civil cases, largely because criminal cases include violence and are targeted toward society. When a defendant is proven guilty, largely, he can be sentenced to prison, and in some cases, even the death penalty can be imposed. A monetary penalty might also follow this. 

Decisional role

• Civil cases – Here, the judge decides whether the defendant is liable or not. The Jury is typically not present in these types of cases as these cases are considered personal matters. However, in some cases, there might be a Jury present. When it is present, there are mainly six jurors. 

• Criminal cases – Here, the decision on whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty is made by both the Jury and the judge. 

Outcomes

• Civil cases – Various outcomes can come from Civil cases, such as dismissal, settlement, and judgment in favor of the defendant or the plaintiff. 

• Criminal cases – Multiple outcomes can be made from Criminal cases, such as dismissal, nolle prosequi, not guilty, guilty, and plea agreement/bargain. 

Examples

• Civil cases – Examples of such cases include insolvency, defamation suits, cases relating to child custody, breach of contract, etc. 

• Criminal cases – Murders, rape, assault, robbery, kidnapping, etc.- are examples of criminal cases. 

CONCLUSION

People often mistake Civil cases for Criminal cases, but both are very different. Civil cases are concerned with representing personal matters and do not affect society. On the other hand, Criminal cases are concerned with the cases that affect society as a whole. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) 

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