• Unlike criminal penalties, civil penalties do not include imprisonment.the old jail image by mavrick from Fotolia.com
  
  Civil and criminal trials both take place in courtrooms, and the same judge may hear both civil and criminal matters. Civil and criminal court proceedings have several differences, however. These differences include different parties, different issues or causes of action, different burdens of proof and different penalties if the defendant is found to be responsible.
  
  

Parties

• While a civil case and a criminal case both have two sides, who is on each side differs. In a civil case, a private individual or company, known as the "plaintiff," sues another person, known as the "defendant." The plaintiff claims that the defendant harmed him in some way and asks for relief, usually money damages. In a criminal case, however, the state or federal government uses an official known as a "prosecutor" to charge a defendant with having committed a specific offense. If the prosecutor can prove the defendant committed the specific offense, the court decides how to punish the individual.
  
  

Causes of Action

• The cause of action, or reason a case is brought, is different in a civil case as opposed to a criminal case. A criminal case can only proceed on very specific causes of action, known as "charges." Each charge must correspond to a criminal law in the jurisdiction where the charge is filed. For instance, a prosecutor cannot charge a defendant with "public nudity" if there is not a specific law prohibiting being naked in public in the place the charge is filed. In a civil case, however, the cause of action may be based either on a particular law or on one of many recognized causes of action for wrongdoing, such as breach of contract or negligence. For example, Company A can sue Company B for breach of contract whether or not a specific law prohibiting Company B's breaching behavior exists.
  
  

Burdens of Proof

• In both civil and criminal cases, the plaintiff or prosecutor has the responsibility to prove that the defendant did whatever the plaintiff or prosecutor has alleged. In a criminal case, the prosecutor must prove the defendant violated a specific law "beyond a reasonable doubt." In a civil case, however, the plaintiff must meet a lower bar for proof. In most civil cases, the plaintiff only has to prove it is "more likely than not" the defendant did what the plaintiff says he or she did. Another name for the "more likely than not" standard is the "preponderance of the evidence" standard.
  
  

Penalties

• The penalties for a defendant who loses a criminal case are different than those for a defendant who loses a civil case. In a criminal case, the defendant may be sentenced to a number of punishments or corrective actions, including jail, fines, or probation. In a civil case, however, the defendant is not sent to jail. Instead, civil defendants must usually pay money to the plaintiff in the amount the plaintiff has proved the defendant owes him.