Leonardo Acosta

Dr. Delaney

Business law

February 6, 2020

Criminal and civil law

Exist different ways to break the law; for these reasons, two extensive

classifications order society, civil and criminal law. According to Delaney, “criminal

and civil law are types of substantive law and are very broad classification.” To

understand more in deep these broad classifications, we will look at definitions, parties,

verdicts, outcomes, and burden of proof. These aspects will help us to understand the

roles of each law in society, and how does either criminal or civil law control society.

Criminal and civil law are crucial for the wealth -being of the community because,

without them, our society would not know their duties and limitations.

Criminal law is who punishes either natural or legal person. According to

Delaney, “category of law in which a claim is made by the government (on behalf of

society) against a person who commits a wrongful action.” In criminal law, the

government is who makes the claims against who commits the wrongful action. The

parties in a criminal lawsuit are prosecution, defendant, and victim. The prosecution is

who makes a claim on behalf of society. We can say that the government is the

prosecutor because they make a claim to protect the community. The defendant is who

allegedly commits the wrongful action and against the claim is made. The defendant can

be either a natural or a legal person. The victim is who suffers the wrongful action. To

sum up, we can say that the government sues either natural or legal person because they

allegedly commit a wrongful action against either natural or legal person.

 In criminal law, verdicts can be either guilty or acquitted. According to

Delaney, the defendant is guilty when the prosecution proves he committed the

wrongful action. On the other hand, the defendant can be not guilty, innocent, or

acquitted, that is when the prosecution does not prove that the defendant committed the

wrongful action. The burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. According to

Delaney, the jury must have no rational uncertainty that the defendant committed the

wrongful action. The jury should be 100% certain of his decision because the outcome

takes away from their liberties. If the defendant is guilty, the outcomes are jail, death,

fines, community service, and house arrest. For example, the prosecutor proves that

Mario killed Sofia; the result can be either jail or the death penalty.

Civil law is who determines duties between a person and society. According to

Delaney, civil law is the category of law where a claim is made by a person against

another person, and they can be either natural or legal person. For example, Sofia vs.

Mario or Mario vs. ABC company. The parties in a civil lawsuit are the plaintiff or

defendant. The plaintiff is who makes the claim and suffers the wrongful action. The

defendant is who against the claim is made and who allegedly committed the wrongful

action. According to Delaney, the verdicts in a civil lawsuit can be liable and not liable.

The defendant is liable when the plaintiff proves that the defendant committed the

wrongful action. On the other hand, a defendant cannot be liable if the plaintiff does not

prove that the defendant committed the wrongful action.

In civil law, the burden of proof is called the preponderance of the evidence.

According to Delaney, they are more likely than not that the defendant committed the

wrongful action. The judge should be 50.111% certain of his decision. The outcomes in

a civil lawsuit are legal remedies and equitable remedies. The legal remedy is money,

and the equitable remedy is a specific performance ordered by the court to do

something. In class, we saw the case of O.J. Simpson, who allegedly killed his ex-

spouse and his friend. In the criminal lawsuit, he was innocent because the jury was not

100% certain, but in the civil lawsuit, he was liable because the plaintiff proves he did

the murder, and the judge needs to be 50.111% certain. In conclusion, criminal and civil

law are crucial in determining the duties and limitations of people. Now we know more

in profound the roles of criminal and civil law in our society.

“I pledge upon my honor that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid

on this assignment.”

Leonardo Acosta
 References

Delaney, A. (2020, January 23) Criminal and civil law. Business Law Class. Retrieved

from:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z3Y0Evt6AQJXz014m_NWUMznfl46M2

VN/view

Delaney, A. (2020, January 28) Criminal and civil law. Business Law Class. Retrieved

from:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZPIVhKCDUgPWq0gzgMUdtJqawgIRWZ

yt/view

Delaney, A. (2020, January 30) Criminal and civil law. Business Law Class. Retrieved

from:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZPIVhKCDUgPWq0gzgMUdtJqawgIRWZ

yt/view