Unit 2 Criminal Law

Unit 2 Assignment

CJ230: Criminal Law for Criminal Justice

Professor Tony Stroud

Kaplan University

Criminal Law is a very complex and sticky area in the United States. With new laws always being made to prevent “loop holes” for those being incarcerated makes the terms not only confusing but making the differences in who and when one can be prosecuted. In this paper the differences between civil cases and criminal cases will be explained as well as when they can both be used in conjunction with each other.

A civil case begins when a person or entity, this person or these people are referred to as the plaintiff, claims that another person or entity also known as the defendant has failed to carry out a legal duty owed to the plaintiff. Both sides are referred to as "parties" or "litigants." The plaintiff may ask the court to tell the defendant to fulfill the duty, or make compensation for the harm done, or both. Legal duties include respecting rights established under the Constitution or under federal or state law.

An example of a civil case would be if a contractor sets a contract with a lumber yard to have a certain amount of lumber delivered. Now if the lumber yard fails to make the delivery could force the contractor to obtain the lumber needed from another place of business, incurring further costs and possibly loss in time. These “damages” as they would be referred to would be what the plaintiff would request in court.

For a criminal crime the person accused is generally charged in a formal accusation called an indictment for felonies or other serious crimes or an information for classified misdemeanors. A state's attorney's office prosecutes state crimes. The government on behalf of the people of the United States prosecutes the case through the United States Attorney's Office if the person is charged with a federal crime. It is not considered to be the victim's responsibility to bring a criminal case. In some criminal cases, there may not be a...