What is the difference between criminal and civil court?

The difference between criminal and civil court in Washington is fairly straight forward. Criminal court generally deals with offenses that are considered against the public, or a crime against society in general. These cases involve a prosecutor and a jury to determine someone’s guilt or innocence, as well as what type of punishment they should receive. Civil court is different in that it deals with disputes between individuals or corporations in which no crime has been committed. The outcome of a civil case is usually a monetary compensation awarded to the party that was wronged, but the court may also issue an injunction, or order, to prevent the original wrongdoer from further violating someone’s rights. In contrast to criminal court, there is no jury in a civil court case and the two sides are represented by lawyers. The burden of proof is also different, with civil court cases requiring that the plaintiff must only prove the defendant more likely than not committed the alleged act, rather than a criminal court’s ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard. In short, criminal court is used to determine if someone has broken the law, while civil court serves to resolve disputes between two or more parties and determine who should pay for damages.

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What is the difference between criminal and civil court?

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