Dieter Dammeier Explains the Difference Between a Civil and Criminal Lawyer

While every citizen in the United States is “innocent until proven guilty,” the standards by which someone is proven guilty — and their subsequent punishments — work very differently in a civil case versus a criminal case.

Having worked on both civil and criminal cases, Dieter Dammeier can further attest to the fact that the demands on a lawyer are drastically different and lawyers specialize in one field.

What Does a Civil Lawyer Do?

In a dispute where one party (the plaintiff) claims that another party (the defendant) should be held liable for negligent behavior, due process demands a civil case. Civil lawyers work to either help the plaintiff prove their case or provide evidence to the contrary on behalf of the plaintiff. Civil law by definition is regarding laws that are related to the civil or private rights of someone.

A civil case does not seek to prove that the defendant is guilty of a crime like theft or murder. Rather, it is a case about fairness and fault. Some examples of a civil case are custody disputes, defamation, and breached contracts.

If proven liable, the defendant rectifies their negligence with a payment to the plaintiff in monetary damages.

To prove that the defendant was negligent — leading to injury, damage to property, death, or all of the above — the plaintiff’s lawyer need only demonstrate a “preponderance of evidence.” That is, there is just enough evidence to show that the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care.

As a general rule, it is easier to win a civil case if a lawyer is representing the plaintiff. Conversely, it is often more challenging for a civil lawyer to win a case when they are defending their client.

What Does a Criminal Lawyer Do?

In criminal law, the stakes are much higher than monetary damages. The defendant’s freedom is at stake, and criminal lawyers work under a different set of principles. Some examples of criminal law cases include assault, homicide, and drug possession.

Instead of a “preponderance of evidence,” the prosecuting attorney must prove “beyond a shadow of a doubt” that the defendant is guilty of a crime.

Defendants found guilty of a crime must serve time in jail, or in extreme cases, suffer execution as punishment for murder.

Does a Civil and a Criminal Case Ever Overlap?

Particularly in a wrongful death case, a defendant may endure both a criminal and a civil case. The OJ Simpson trials are examples of how these case categories overlapped.

In OJ’s criminal case, defending attorneys were able to raise enough doubt over OJ’s guilt to achieve an innocent verdict. However, the civil case on wrongful death favored the plaintiffs (in this case, Ron Goldman’s family).

An overlap between civil and criminal cases is rare. As such, crime convictions are reserved for criminal cases, and liability verdicts are reserved for civil cases.

Dieter Dammeier concludes that although civil and criminal lawyers are both lawyers, they deal with different cases and have to handle each case in a different manner. Just like doctors specialize in specific fields, so too do lawyers.