Civil v. Criminal Law: What’s the Difference?

Jurisdiction means the ability of a specific court to hear cases on certain topics. In other words, not all courts can hear all cases. One major jurisdictional distinction is the difference between civil courts, which hear matters related to civil law, and criminal courts, which hear matters related to criminal law. There are three main differences between civil law and criminal law: the parties involved, the standard of proof required to win a case, and the penalties available to those who lose the trial. This next blog series explains the basics of these differences.