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The Differences Between Civil And Civil Vs. Civil Law

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Criminal cases our about crimes, or wrongs committed where the government is the plaintiff and civil cases our about disputes between private parties. Criminal cases can lead to incarceration, where civil cases can only lead to compensation being awarded. The US judicial system is based on common law, while civil code traces its origins to the Roman Empire. The differences between criminal and civil law seems to be about who has been wronged, purpose and possible outcomes and the source of the law.
The parties been wronged in criminal cases is the government, the entity who has stated the laws that have been broken. The government is always the plaintiff, which can be described as the party who makes the complaint. “The government (local, state, or federal) is always the plaintiff (the party bringing the suit) in criminal cases” (Moore, 2012, p. 11) Hacking into a secure government network and providing that information to an unauthorized source would be a criminal case in the area of communication.
In a civil case, the plaintiff can be any private party who has a grievance against another private party. An example of a civil case in the area of communication is the libel committed when fake news is disseminated. The party who is wronged brings the case against another private party.
When trying to determine whether or not a case is civil or criminal, one can consider the goal of the litigation. A criminal litigation’s goal is to establish culpability and then discipline the party at fault. While punishment can include monetary compensation in a civil case, only a criminal case can result in incarceration or execution. A civil litigation’s goal is to resolve accountability of the defendant and, when accountability is determined to be the defendants, provide compensation to the wronged party. Civil law or action in this sense refers to that body of law dealing with those cases in which an individual or legal entity (such as a corporation, partnership, or even governmental agency) is requesting damages or other relief from another individual or entity. (Moore, 2012, P. 10) The primary difference in the possible outcomes is incarceration. A civil case will not end in incarceration, unless there’s been some

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