Civil vs. Criminal Courts
Law Enforcement I
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Type of Laws
• There are two types of laws:
– Civil
– Criminal
• Constables enforce both types
• Most other peace officers only enforce
criminal law, but often come in contact with
civil law cases
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Why is it Important
to Know the Difference?
• Peace officers need to know the
difference so they know when they can
legally act on something
• Officers are oftentimes called out to
civil cases but cannot enforce any laws
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Why is it Important
to Know the Difference? (continued)
• In these cases the officers are expected to
maintain order and ensure no violence occurs,
or make an arrest if an assault does occur
• These are often called civil standbys
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Why is it Important
to Know the Difference? (continued)
• Examples of civil standbys are
– Child custody drop off or pick up situations
– Landlord and tenant disputes
• Officers cannot enforce any court orders
related to these calls but can document for
future court proceedings what happened
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Why is it Important
to Know the Difference? (continued)
• Officers can always be called to testify as
witnesses at a civil trial, just like in a criminal
trial
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What is the Difference?
• Civil law concerns the private rights of
individuals and organizations in which the
government provides a public forum for the
resolution of disputes.
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• Criminal law involves the violation of
statutory laws in which the state (the
government) is the prosecutor
• Some examples are arson, rape, and armed
robbery
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• The burden of proof in civil cases is considered
to be a “preponderance of the evidence” which
means more likely than not the person accused
of the wrong did it
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• The state’s burden of proof in a criminal case
is to prove a defendant’s guilt “beyond a
reasonable doubt” which is a much higher
standard than what has to be proven in a civil
case
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• In a civil case, the one bringing the case is the
plaintiff or petitioner and the one defending is
the respondent
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• In a criminal case, the prosecutor is the one
who brings the charges and the defendant is
the one defending
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• Civil law can include private law and contract
law
– Private law includes redress for non-criminal harm
done to another
– Contract law regulates the varied legal transactions
between groups and individuals
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• Violations of statutory laws are called crimes
• Serious crimes are called felonies, and less
serious ones are called misdemeanors
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• The punishment for civil law is often
monetary, which is paid to another person or
institution
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• The punishment for criminal law could be
monetary, time spent in jail or prison,
probation, community service, or all of the
above, plus a report of this on a defendant’s
criminal record if they are found guilty
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• Civil law
– Deals primarily with individual or property rights
– Involves a concept of responsibility but not guilt
– Usually everyone involved is a private party
– A dispute is usually set out in a petition
– The court remedy is relief from or compensation
for the violation of legal rights
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• Criminal law
– Deals with public concepts proper behavior and
morality as defined by law
– The case is initiated by a government prosecutor
on behalf of the public
– Specific charges of wrongdoing are spelled out in a
grand jury indictment or a writ of information
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What is the Difference? (continued)
• Criminal law
– On arraignment, the defendant enters a plea of
guilty or not guilty
– Has strict rules of procedure that are used to
evaluate evidence
– Determination of guilt results in punishment
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Resources
• 020547893X, Criminal Justice, James Fagin,
2006.
• 111134471X, American Government and
Politics Today (Texas Edition), Steffen W.
Schmidt, Mack C. Shelley, Barbara A. Bardes,
Lynne E. Ford, and William Earl Maxwell,
2011.
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