法律英语：80 Can You Be Sued Even if。。。

By Adam Freedman

Today’s episode: can you be sued even if you’re “not guilty?”
But first, your daily dose of legalese: This podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship with any listener. In other words, although I am a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer. In fact, we barely know each other. If you need personalized legal advice, contact an attorney in your community.

Guilty – But Not Guilty?
Karen from Ohio writes to tell me about a person in her neighborhood who shot and killed a burglar. Although no criminal charges were brought against the homeowner, the family of the burglar sued him -- and won.  Karen asks: “how can a civil court force someone to pay a settlement when another court has already said they are not guilty?” Great question, Karen! It’s true that a person can win a criminal action, but then go on to lose the civil action. As I’ll explain in a minute, it’s because the two actions are brought by different parties and subject to different standards of proof.
The Difference Between Criminal Guilt¹ and Civil Liability
The law distinguishes between criminal guilt and civil liability. If you don’t believe me, just ask OJ Simpson. On second thought, don’t bother – you’d have to visit OJ in a Nevada prison where he’s serving time for some recent felonies.   But the point is, back in 1995, Simpson was found not guilty of murdering Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, but then two years later was found liable to Goldman’s parents for causing Ron’s “wrongful death.”
Let me explain. “Murder” is a crime, whereas “wrongful death” is a civil wrong, otherwise known as a “tort.” Generally speaking, crimes are established so that society can punish (and, one hopes, deter) morally culpable² behavior. Torts, on the other hand, are created to provide compensation to the injured.
The Difference Between Torts and Crimes
It just so happens that many acts -- like killing³ somebody -- are both crimes and torts. But this is not always the case. For example, a failed attempt to commit murder constitutes a crime (attempted murder), but if the intended victim is not harmed by the attempt, there’s no tort -- because there’s nothing to compensate⁴. Conversely, there are plenty of torts that aren’t crimes. Defamation⁵, for example, is the publication of words that damage a person’s reputation. You can be sued for it, but in most jurisdictions⁶ there is no corresponding crime.
The Difference Between Criminal and Civil Cases
One easy way to remember the distinction between crimes and torts is that a criminal case is always brought by the government (acting on behalf of all the people), whereas a civil case (such as tort) is brought by a private person or entity⁷.
That is one reason why Karen’s neighbor, like OJ Simpson, had to defend himself twice. As a general principle, every litigant⁸ has to have the chance to prove his or her case in court. In Karen’s example, the State of Ohio had its chance to bring charges, but the burglar’s family had to have its day in court as well.
Different Standards of Proof
The other reason why a criminal acquittal doesn’t get you a free pass out of civil court is that the two court systems use different standards of proof. In a criminal case, the prosecution⁹ must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In most civil cases, the plaintiff has to prove his or her case by a “preponderance of the evidence.”
The bottom line -- although the law doesn’t usually speak in these terms -- is that, in a criminal case, the jury must be, say, 95% certain of the defendant¹⁰’s guilt, but in most tort cases, the jury only needs to be 51% certain. So the fact that the prosecution failed to prove OJ Simpson’s guilt to a 95% standard did not preclude¹¹ the Goldman family from establishing at least a 51% likelihood that Simpson had killed their son.
If You are Found Guilty, Are You Automatically Liable?
Of course, this all works very differently in reverse. If a person is found guilty in a criminal case of committing certain acts, then a civil court cannot reach an opposite conclusion. The civil court has to accept whatever facts the criminal court has found to be “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Usually, a civil plaintiff still has to prove other facts to establish liability; most notably¹², the plaintiff has to show that he or she suffered compensable damages. Still, having a criminal conviction against your defendant makes a civil plaintiff’s case much, much easier.
One thing, at least, ought to be crystal clear: do your best to avoid committing either crimes or torts. Crime doesn’t pay -- and neither do torts.
Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful¹³ Life.

You can send questions and comments to。。。。。。or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-202-4LAW.  Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

 

1 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

2 culpable   

adj.有罪的，该受谴责的

参考例句：

• The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。
• Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

5 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

6 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

7 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

8 litigant   

n.诉讼当事人；adj.进行诉讼的

参考例句：

• A litigant generally must make a motion in writing.诉讼当事人通常必须作出书面申请。
• In civil proceedings,the litigants shall have equal litigant rights.民事诉讼当事人有平等的诉讼权利。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

11 preclude   

vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍

参考例句：

• We try to preclude any possibility of misunderstanding.我们努力排除任何误解的可能性。
• My present finances preclude the possibility of buying a car.按我目前的财务状况我是不可能买车的。

12 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

13 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。