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Civil vs Criminal and Juries
Objective: Students will compare and contrast civil and criminal court
proceedings in order to analyze jury selections through a real world
example.
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Drill:
1. The United States legal system
requires that people accused of
crimes be
A. Held in prison until trial
B. Informed of the charges against
them
C.responsible for proving their
innocence
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2. “Americans are free … to disagree with the
law but not to disobey it. For in a government of
laws and not of men, no man, however prominent
or powerful, and no mob however unruly or
boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law.” —
President John F. Kennedy The quotation above
most directly supports presidential actions
that
A. improve international relations
B. improve the economy
C. ensure public order and safety
D. ensure individual rights
+ Vocabulary

questioning
voir dire- ______________________
a juror or a witness to determine his or
her competency, qualifications and knowledge and to make sure they are not
_____________________.
biased

trial
petit jury- The ordinary jury of 6 to 12 persons for the ____________________
of a civil or criminal case

prosecution- lawyers acting for the _________________
to put the case
state
against the defendant





decide
grand jury- a group of 6 to 23 people who __________________
whether or
not there is enough _________________
to formally ____________________
charge
evidence
someone of a crime
hung jury- a jury that is unable to __________________
on a verdict (the
agree
mistrial
result is a ____________________)
certainty
reasonable doubt- level of ____________________
that the judge or jury
needs to have before finding an individual __________________
in a criminal
guilty
case
outcome
verdict- the _____________________
of a ________________________
criminal trial
indictment- An ____________________ of a criminal offense made by a
accusation
____________________________
Grand Jury
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Scavenger Hunt
Civil and Criminal Proceedings
Instructions: Read each scenario. Consult your
Criminal and Civil Proceedings Flowcharts to:
(a) circle whether the case is civil or criminal
(b) identify the category of civil or criminal law
(c) answer the question associated with each
scenario
+  Ronald McDonald filed a complaint against
Burger King for slander. The case doesn’t
even make it to pretrial discovery, the
plaintiff wins.
 (a)
civil or criminal
 (b)
category: ________________________________
Torts and Civil Wrongs
 (c)
How is this situation possible?
Settlement out of court
+ Civil
Categories:
Criminal
Categories:
Contract
Petty
Property
Misdemeanor
Torts
Felony
and Civil
Wrongs
Family
•Cases are held in court
Oath
Lawyers
•Evidence/ Proof
Summons
•Legal Principles
Witnesses
•Categories (Civil: Torts, Contract, Family, Property. Criminal: Felony,
Misdemeanor, Petty)
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•Settlement avoids Trial
•Preponderance of
Evidence
•Seeking Damages
•Plaintiff Brings the Case
•Mediation
•Arbitration
•Plea Bargain – Avoids Trial
•Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
•Jail Sentence/ Fine
•State Brings Case
(Prosecution)
•Held until Proven Guilt/ Pay
Bail
•Grand Jury
What is the burden of proof in a Civil Case?
Explain it
Preponderance of Evidence
What is the burden of proof in a Criminal Case?
Explain it
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Why is the burden of proof different for criminal
+cases?
and civil
Different kinds of cases:
Criminal – deals with crimes
Civil – deals with issues among people
Because they deal with different topics;
How the result is determined needs to be
different.
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Assessment: 1
Into the Jury Pool
Read the Article and Answer
the questions that follow.
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Assessment: 2
You be the Lawyer…
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Theories of Crime and
Punishment
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Utilitarian Theory
Focuses on achieving social
benefit:
 Deterrence
– In general, it has been
found that an increase in the detection,
arrest and conviction rate is a greater
deterrence to crime than an increase in
the punishment.
 Incapacitation – Removing dangerous
individuals from society protects
society from that person.
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Utilitarian Theory Cont…
Rehabilitation
– Offenders can be
“changed” into productive
members of society if given
proper treatment.
 NOTE: This
may be a goal of punishment,
but it is not a justification for punishment
and in today’s system, it has been all but
rejected.
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Retributive Theory
 Society
is under a moral obligation to
punish a defendant who deserves
punishment. It is wrong to punish the
innocent and we must take steps to avoid
doing so, but a guilty person must be
punished.
 Assaultive
– Punishment is justified by the
crime. It is not necessary to look at the
rights of the guilty or consider his or her
“best interests.”
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Retributive Theory Cont…
Protective
– The guilty has benefited
from the crime and society has paid
the price. Thus, the guilty person
owes a debt to society.
Can you give Examples of each?
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Peggy Lerner
You are given a wrap sheet and a scenario.
Produce a persuasive argument about what
should happen to her.
You need to have in there:
All grievances:
The crime committed
What penalties should happen or lack of
End result and why.
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Exit ticket- Worth 40 Points
What do you think should happen to Peggy
Lerner?

What punishment do you think she should receive?

If the decision was left in your hands, what would be a fair
punishment.

You must include a recap of her crimes and a justification of her
punishment.

You must also explain with type of punishment it is with citing
examples.

You must explain this this is 1-2 paragraphs.