If you were to embezzle money from your employer, you likely would face two separate and distinct lawsuits as a consequence of your embezzlement: a criminal lawsuit and a civil lawsuit. Why do we have separate lawsuits for torts (civil) and crimes (criminal) that arise from a single occurrence? What are the differences between these two types of lawsuits?

Respuesta :

Crimes are offences against the state, and are prosecuted by the state.  Civil cases on the other hand, typically involve disputes between individuals regarding the legal duties and responsibilities they owe to one another.These cases are adjudicated by the civil lawsuits. Civil cases usually involve private disputes between persons or organizations. Criminal cases involve an action that is considered to be harmful to society as a whole.

There are separate lawsuits for crimes and torts because the punishments for crimes and torts differ and should be judged accordingly.

The differences between criminal and civil lawsuits are:

  • Crimes are against the state and are prosecuted by the state while torts are against individuals and are prosecuted by the wronged individual
  • Civil cases in most times only require monetary punishments in form of fine while criminal cases involve both jail term and monetary punishment
  • Criminal cases requires a higher standard of proof than civil cases
  • Defendants in a civil case don't have the rights to an attorney, but the defendants in criminal cases do
Q&A Education