 Hi, this is attorney Kevin Hazelit, and the question is, what's the difference between a civil case and a criminal case? Well, generally, there's a couple of differences. Number one, in a criminal case, the action. The beginning of that case is brought forward usually by an arrest, but the charges, the charging document, what gets that case in motion is started by a prosecutor. Now, a prosecutor is a government lawyer, and they decide, either independently through the use of filing and information, which is a charging document, or the use of a grand jury, they decide whether or not the criminal charge is filed. And once it's filed, the prosecutor is responsible for prosecuting that case, meaning making sure that they prove the elements of that crime to a jury. In a civil case, a government lawyer does not bring the charge. In a civil case, an individual who is injured, who has a cause of action, will file a civil case. The filing of a civil case requires meeting the monetary requirements, the filing fee, and then stating a cause of action. So in a criminal case, a prosecutor who's designated by that state or by that local authority to prosecute criminal cases brings any and all criminal actions. In a civil case, any person who has a cause of action or an injured party can file a civil lawsuit. The next difference between a criminal case and a civil case is what occurs after a conviction or after you have a judgment. In a criminal case, if a person is convicted of a crime, that person can be incarcerated, which means put in jail, whether county jail or state prison. In a civil case, for example, that person can't be incarcerated. So in a civil case, if an award is awarded against a defendant, we don't have any debtor's prisons. That means if that person cannot afford to pay that, the judge cannot put that person in prison or jail. However, in civil case, that person can be awarded monetary damages, meaning that U.S. currency. So if you prevail in a civil case, the prevailing party, the plaintiff, can be paid in money or compensated for their damages with monetary awards. Civil case, jail, fine, probation, civil case, money awards, no jail. Another difference between a criminal and civil case is that in criminal cases, if the accused, the defendant is indigent, meaning they don't have enough money to hire their own lawyer or counsel, most states will appoint them a court appointed attorney. They're sometimes called public defenders. That lawyer will then represent the accused in the criminal action. In a civil case, if the person who has had a lawsuit filed against them or they file a lawsuit on their own behalf, they're not appointed any lawyers. They are responsible for either hiring a lawyer on their behalf or representing themselves. So another distinct difference is criminal cases, if the person doesn't have their own lawyer, they may be entitled to a government appointed lawyer, civil case, not appointed a government lawyer and must either represent themselves as a plaintiff or as a defendant. Lastly, the difference between a criminal case and a civil case is the burden of proof. Remember burden of proof is what level is required for either the prosecutor or the plaintiff in a civil case to prove their case. In a criminal case, the prosecutors are required to prove the defendant or the accused guilty beyond and to the exclusion of any and all reasonable doubt. That's a high burden. It's the highest burden we have in the United States. In a civil case, however, the burden is called a preponderance of the evidence. What that means is more than 50%. So think of it if you had two scales. In a civil case, in order to win, you've got to just tip the scales, be 51% ahead. Unlike the criminal case, where in order to prosecute a person successfully, you must prove that person guilty beyond and to the exclusion of any and all reasonable doubt. That means that the jury must have an abiding conviction of guilt. If they don't, the jury is going to be told by the judge that they must acquit the defendant. Remember, difference again, criminal case beyond exclusive reasonable doubt, civil case, preponderance of the evidence, lower burdens of proof. And quite frankly, those are the general differences between a criminal charge and a civil case.