{"id":723,"date":"2017-05-04T19:24:32","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T19:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiolinjurylaw.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T08:21:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:21:40","slug":"the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between Civil and Criminal Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Though TV and movies often conflate civil and criminal cases, from a legal perspective, they are very distinct from each other. Criminal cases seek justice for wrongs committed by an individual and generally involve prosecution from the state or federal court. Civil cases, by contrast, generally exist between two or more private parties and seek financial recourse for wrong-doing or negligence. Learn the differences between civil and criminal cases, as well as when these two might overlap.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/#What_Is_a_Criminal_Case\" >What Is a Criminal Case?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/#What_Is_a_Civil_Case\" >What Is a Civil Case?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/#Differences_Between_Criminal_and_Civil_Cases\" >Differences Between Criminal and Civil Cases<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/#Cases_Involving_Both_Civil_and_Criminal_Courts\" >Cases Involving Both Civil and Criminal Courts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_a_Criminal_Case\"><\/span>What Is a Criminal Case?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A criminal case might exist when a state brings an action against an individual for violating a law outlined in the Florida Penal Code. Crimes, unlike civil cases, are offenses against society as a whole or at against the state of Florida. In other words, even though a person may assault another person, the law considers it a crime against everyone living in the state. As such, a state prosecutor brings the case against the individual on behalf of everyone living in the state.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most obvious differences between a criminal case and a civil case regards punishment. In a criminal case, a defendant may face the prospect of jail time, while this possibility does not exist in civil cases. However, a criminal case may involve payment of monetary fines to the court as well.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_a_Civil_Case\"><\/span>What Is a Civil Case?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A civil case, by contrast, involves a legal action filed by an individual or party, against another party. These cases seek compensation for damages, whether material or non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. A party generally files a civil case in court on the basis of negligence. In other words, legal grounds for a civil case may exist when a person\u2019s recklessness or carelessness leads to another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/tampa-personal-injury-lawyer\/\">personal injuries<\/a> or property damage. However, a person may also have grounds for a suit when malicious or intentional conduct leads to damages.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Differences_Between_Criminal_and_Civil_Cases\"><\/span>Differences Between Criminal and Civil Cases<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Several other key differences between criminal and civil cases exist:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The evidentiary standard for criminal and civil cases is very different. To face conviction for a crime, a jury must have assurance of a defendant\u2019s guilt \u201cbeyond a reasonable doubt.\u201d However, a civil case depends on a \u201cpreponderance of the evidence,\u201d which is much lower. To decide a civil case, a jury or judge must decide that it\u2019s \u201cmore likely than not\u201d that the plaintiff\u2019s allegations are true.<\/li>\n<li>A criminal case guarantees a trial by jury to a defendant, but a civil case does not. Often, civil cases settle out of court or may only involve a judge. In some cases, however, civil cases also involve a trial by jury, and the jury decides on the award.<\/li>\n<li>In a criminal trial, a defendant is constitutionally entitled to an attorney, and the state will provide one in the event he or she cannot afford one. A defendant in a civil case, however, has no such right.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cases_Involving_Both_Civil_and_Criminal_Courts\"><\/span>Cases Involving Both Civil and Criminal Courts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In some instances, a case might involve both criminal and civil penalties. A common example might include violent crime. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1997\/02\/11\/us\/jury-decides-simpson-must-pay-25-million-in-punitive-award.html\">cases against O.J. Simpson<\/a>, for instance, are a prime example In a criminal court, the jury declared him not guilty, but in a civil case, the jury ordered him to pay millions in punitive damages for the wrongful death of his ex-wife and her friend. In this case, the criminal court and civil courts had different verdicts, but that\u2019s not always the case.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a case that involves a drunk driver who was responsible for someone\u2019s death while behind the wheel may be both a criminal and civil case. The driver may be criminally liable for vehicular manslaughter \u2013 and courts find him to be \u2013 the families of the victim may also file a claim with the help of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/practice-areas\/tampa-wrongful-death-attorney\/\">Tampa wrongful death lawyer<\/a> against the defendant to compensate for damages and the emotional and financial consequences of losing a loved one.<\/p>\n<p>Criminal and civil cases have distinct differences \u2013 however, in some cases, the two may coincide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Though TV and movies often conflate civil and criminal cases, from a legal perspective, they are very distinct from each other. Criminal cases seek justice for wrongs committed by an individual and generally involve prosecution from the state or federal court. Civil cases, by contrast, generally exist between two or more private parties and seek [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Difference Between Civil and Criminal Cases<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn the key differences between civil and criminal cases, including who brings each case, standards of proof, penalties, and when they can overlap.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Difference Between Civil and Criminal Cases\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn the key differences between civil and criminal cases, including who brings each case, standards of proof, penalties, and when they can overlap.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/the-difference-between-civil-and-criminal-cases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fiol &amp; 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