3.2 Civil, Criminal, and Moral Wrongs
Lore Rutz-Burri and Chantel Chauvin
This chapter is about people committing crimes—engaging in behavior that violates the criminal law—and how society responds to these criminal behaviors. Crimes are only one type of wrong. People can also violate civil law or commit a moral wrong and not be guilty of any crime whatsoever. So, what is the difference between a civil wrong, a criminal wrong, and a moral wrong?
Civil Wrongs
A civil wrong is a private wrong, and the injured party’s remedy is to sue the party who caused the wrong/injury for general damages (money). The plaintiff (the injured party) sues or brings a civil suit (files an action in court) against the defendant (the party that caused the harm). Plaintiffs can be individuals, businesses, classes of individuals (in a class action suit), or government entities. Defendants in civil actions can also be individuals, businesses, multinational corporations, governments, or state agencies.
Civil law covers many types of civil actions or suits, including torts (personal injury claims), contracts, property or real estate disputes, family law (including divorces, adoptions, and child custody matters), intellectual property claims (including copyright, trademark, and patent claims), and trusts and estate laws (which cover wills and probate).
The primary purpose of a civil suit is to financially compensate the injured party. The plaintiff brings the suit in his or her own name, for example, Sam Smith versus Joe Jones. The amount of damages is theoretically related to the amount of harm done by the defendant to the plaintiff. Sometimes, when the jury finds there is particularly egregious harm, it will decide to punish the defendant by awarding a monetary award called punitive damages in addition to general damages. Plaintiffs may also bring civil suits called injunctive relief to stop or “enjoin” the defendant from continuing to act in a certain manner. Codes of the civil procedure set forth the rules to follow when suing the party who allegedly caused some type of private harm. These codes govern all the various types of civil actions.
In a civil trial, the plaintiff has the burden of producing evidence that the defendant caused the injury and the harm. To meet this burden, the plaintiff will call witnesses to testify and introduce physical evidence. In a civil case, the plaintiff must convince or persuade the jury that it is more likely than not that the defendant caused the harm. This level of certainty or persuasion is known as preponderance of the evidence. Another feature in a civil suit is that the defendant can cross-sue the plaintiff, claiming that the plaintiff is actually responsible for the harm.
Criminal Wrongs
Criminal wrongs differ from civil or moral wrongs. Criminal wrongs are formal acts of deviance and are behaviors that harm society as a whole rather than one individual or entity specifically.
When people violate a criminal law, there are general