CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS

Criminal Laws: They regulate public conduct and can only be brought by the government against a person charged with committing a crime.

Prosecutor: District Attorney (DA) or Assistant District Attorney (ADA) represents the state by bringing charges against the defendant

Pressing Charges: When the government makes a claim of wrongdoing; accuse or blame Once a person brings their claim before a law

enforcement agency, the state will decide whether there is enough evidence for an arrest

If a victim would like to drop charges against the defendant, the prosecutor may still proceed with the charges

Criminal Charges may result in jail time, fines, penalties and probation

Two types of crimes: Felony- more serious crime, usually more

than one year in jail (murder, rape, robbery, kidnapping, etc.)

Misdemeanor- Less serious crime, either no jail time or sentence is less than one year

Civil Laws: Regulate relations between people (marriage, divorce, contracts, real estate, negligence, etc.)

Lawsuit: A civil action in court between two or more people Damages: Money asked for or awarded

to a plaintiff in a lawsuit as a result of the defendant’s actions

Compensatory- Money paid for physical/emotional harm that resulted in lost wages, medical bills, damage of property, pain and suffering

Punitive: Awards totaling more than the damage caused to punish the defendant for their behavior and as a warning for others to not do the same

Nominal: Not a lot of money, awarded to prove that the plaintiff’s claim was justified, even if they cannot prove economic harm