There are times when legal matters can get intertwined a bit. The justice system divides legal matters into civil, family, criminal, corporate, and a few other divisions and, in most cases, one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. In some cases, criminal law and civil law can involve two separate cases that apply to the same parties. Read on find out more about this meshing of criminal and civil law.
Criminal Law and Civil Law
When you file a lawsuit against a person or entity, you are using civil law. For example, if you are hit by a careless driver and injured, you might file a lawsuit against the other driver and their insurance company. Civil law deals with personal injury, invasion of privacy, defamation, and other types of civil wrongs. Laws do not necessarily have to be broken with civil law and there is usually a financial compensation issue to be litigated. Criminal law, on the other hand, is based on violations and the punishments can include being sent to prison and more. These two different courts can, at times, deal with very similar matters.
Same Parties Different Cases
It's easy to see why two different areas of the law can affect each other when you consider how often someone who commits a crime is also potentially perpetrating a civil wrong. If someone is being tried for murder, the family members of the deceased can also bring a wrongful death case in civil court for the same situation. The burden of proof is far greater in criminal matters, however.
Car Accidents and Criminal Connections
If you are injured in a car accident, things might get interesting if you were hit by a driver who is also charged with a crime. For example, drivers who drink, drive, and wreck may be charged with an aggravated driving under the influence (DUI) charge and you may seek financial compensation from them using personal injury law. Your civil case is enhanced by the driver's criminal charges, regardless of the criminal case's outcome. Other common criminal charges that might influence your personal injury case are reckless driving, assault, false imprisonment, and more.
The evidence and the fact that the other party is facing criminal charges can usually make your case far easier to prove and can result in a quick and generous offer to settle. Speak to a personal injury lawyer to find out more.
Share19 May 2019
Too many single people assume they don't need to plan their estate. My brother fell into this category, and his unexpected passing left our entire family struggling to deal with his home, belongings, and financial accounts. It took nearly three years for the courts to set up a deal because he left no paperwork detailing how he wanted his estate divided. The situation immediately convinced me to work on my own estate, even though I'm still in my early 30's and don't have children or a spouse to worry about. Since it's a little harder to pick beneficiaries and estate managers when you're single, I collected the resources I used for making my own decisions and decided to publish them here on my blog. Use these resources before talking to an estate planning attorney so you're prepared for making hard decisions.