Comparison between Criminal and Civil Law - Research Paper Example

Running head: COMPARISON BETWEEN CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW Comparison between Criminal and Civil Law in Ontario Number Name and Number Name of Professor Date of Submission Number of Words: 1,523 Introduction In general, criminal law includes major criminal offenses such as murder, stealing, assault and rape cases whereas civil law includes activities related to the process of lending and borrowing money, entering into contracts, disputes with neighbors, and marriages (Merryman & Pérez-Perdomo, 2007, p. 6; Wood, 2002, p. 255). Although both criminal and civil cases involve an argument concerning the rights and responsibilities of the people involved in a case, there are still a lot of difference between criminal law and civil law in terms of principles, administration and procedures. In this study, the difference between the civil and criminal court principles, administration, procedures and types of cases in Ontario will be compared and contrast. As part of going through the main discussion, examples of cases that occurred in Ontario since 2005 will be provided in this paper. Difference between the Civil and Criminal Court Principles, Administration, and Procedures in Ontario In principles, criminal law in Ontario includes acts that is proven to cause intentional harm to another person or other people’s property whereas civil law involves either disputes between two people or negligent acts that could end up causing harm to another person (Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, 2010 a). A good example of criminal law under the classification of burglary is the act of breaking into the home of another person with the intention to commit a felony (Lippman, 2010, p. 420). In line with this, the main purpose of criminal law is to protect the society’s peace and order (Sixth Sense, 2010). Civil law aims to protect the interest of private individuals by upholding the rights of each person (Jenkins, 2011, p. 320; Sixth Sense, 2010). Unlike criminal law which involves the act of causing intentional harm to another person, civil law involves the argument between two people or any form of negligent acts which may end up causing harm to another person. These arguments can arise out of misunderstanding or disagreement over the ownership of land or buildings, dismissal of employee, bounced checks, or unresolved financial debts (FDIC, 2010). Aside from simple family law cases such as divorce, division of conjugal properties, spousal and child support, parental responsibility for a child or the distribution of estates of deceased person; professional negligence and malpractice that could have resulted to physical injury or damages to another person is also categorized under civil court cases (Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, 2010 a). Since criminal offenses are made against the security and safety of the society, it is the state or Crown that is made responsible in the process of investigation and prosecution of the criminal allegations against the part of the victims (Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, 2010 a). As part of the investigating procedure for criminal cases, it is the local police who have the authority to gather concrete evidences that can be filed in the court. In court, the person authorized to present the criminal case against the suspect are the public prosecutors including the judges and juries (ibid). Given that the suspect is proven guilty of a crime, the suspect will be convicted of a crime and will be punished for many years of imprisonment, fine, community sentence, or when to be discharge. As a general rule, gathering of multiple concrete evidences that an intentional crime was committed are necessary before any person will be convicted of a crime. In the absence of solid evidences, the suspect striking another person can be classified only as criminal assault. Not unless the suspect was proven to have intentionally beaten up another person without a reasonable doubt, it is not possible to accuse the suspect of a criminal case (Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, 2010 a). Unlike in criminal law, the state has no role in handling civil cases except when the party being sued for civil case is the government. Depending on the balance of probabilities, it is the courts who may decide whether or not the defendant is liable or not liable of a civil case, to dismiss a civil case due to insufficient evidences or order the losing party to pay for the damages through monetary award (Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, 2010 a). As part of the investigating procedure for civil cases, it is the parties involved and lawyers are responsible in gathering evidences which will be presented in the courts (ibid). Forming the lower ties within the Canadian court system in Ontario, the Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court of Justice make up the Court of Ontario. Specifically the Ontario Court of Justice is composed of 287 judges and 349 justices of the peace who were appointed to serve in the courts (Ontario Court of Justice, 2006 / 2007, p. 1). The hearing of all jury trials and trials before a judge for a preliminary hearing of all cases related to civil matters and criminal law and youth criminal justice matters are exclusively handled by the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario Court of Justice, 2006 / 2007, pp. 1 – 2). Under Child and Family Services Act, the Family Court Branch has the exclusive jurisdiction in handling all other family law matters except for divorce, division of property, spousal support and child custody (Ontario Court of Justice, 2006 / 2007, p. 2). Family cases related to divorce, division of property, spousal support and child custody is being handled by the Family Court of the Superior Court of Justice. It is the justices of peace of the Court who handles provincial offenses, bail hearings, and the issuance of search warrants whereas the judges of the court conduct trials for provincial offences, criminal and youth criminal justice bails, trails, and preliminary hearings, and family law cases except for divorce and the division of property (Ontario Court of Justice, 2010 a; Ontario Court of Justice, 2006 / 2007, p. 2). To avoid misjudgment, the Superior Court of Justice sits on appeal of conviction trails heard before a judge of Ontario Court of Justice (Ontario Court of Justice, 2006 / 2007, p. 2). Composed of the Chief of Justice of Ontario, the Associate Chief Justice of Ontario and 21 other judges; the Ontario Court of Appeal who is in-charge of hearing civil and criminal appeals coming from Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice (Court of Appeal for Ontario, 2010b). Types and Examples of Cases in Ontario There are a lot of criminal and civil cases in Ontario. A good example of civil law is the case of R. v. Richards [2010 ONCA 728]. Jason Richards was found guilty of several offenses related to sexual assault, two assaults, forcible confinement, and two counts of failure to comply with courts recognizance after his girlfriend wanted to end their relationship. After receiving imprisonment for 7-1/2 years, he made an appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the grounds that was specified under Section 718.2© of the Criminal Code stating that “where consecutive sentences are imposed, the combined sentence should not be unduly long or harsh”. Eventually, his imprisonment was cut short to 5 years which includes the 10 months credit for the pre-trial custody. (Court of Appeal for Ontario, 2010 a) R. v. Duff [2010 ONCJ 493] is a criminal case wherein James Ian Duff was found guilty to two charges of possession of substantial amount of child pornography and was convicted for offence pursuant to s. 490.011(1)(a) of the Code for imprisonment of 10 years and pursuant to s. 161 of the Code for a period of 10 years (Ontario Court of Justice, 2010 b). Aside from DNA order pursuant to s. 487.051(4) of the Code, pornographic materials in the form of print and soft copy stored in external hard drives will be destroyed pursuant to s. 164.2(1) of the Code (ibid). Conclusion Although both criminal and civil cases involve an argument concerning the rights and responsibilities of the people involved in a case, it is easy to distinguish the difference between the two types of cases. Basically, criminal cases involves intentional act that could cause serious harm or threat to the life of a person whereas civil cases are cases that causes two individual parties to argue over something. Family case law is unique even if it is classified as a civil case law. Family cases related to divorce, division of property, spousal support and child custody is being handled by the Family Court of the Superior Court of Justice. Under Child and Family Services Act, the Family Court Branch has the exclusive jurisdiction in handling all other family law matters except for divorce, division of property, spousal support and child custody. The Ontario Court of Appeal who is in-charge of hearing civil and criminal appeals coming from Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice. The Superior Court of Justice handles hearing of all jury trials and trials before a judge for a preliminary hearing of all cases related to civil matters and criminal law and youth criminal justice matters whereas bail hearings of other related provincial cases and the issuance of provincial search warrants are handles by the Ontario Court of Justice. *** End *** References Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association. (2010). Retrieved October 27, 2010, from Criminal and Civil Law: http://www.cscja-acjcs.ca/criminal_civil_law-en.asp?l=4 Court of Appeal for Ontario. (2010 a, November 2). Retrieved November 4, 2010, from R. v. Richards, 2010 ONCA 728: http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2010/november/2010ONCA0728.pdf Court of Appeal for Ontario. (2010 b). Retrieved October 27, 2010, from About the Court: http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/coa/en/ FDIC. (2010). Retrieved November 4, 2010, from Trust Examination Manual. Section 4 - Compliance/Account Administration - Personal and Charitable Accounts: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/trustmanual/section_4/section_iv.html Jenkins, J. A. (2011). The American Courts: A Procedural Approach. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC. Lippman, M. R. (2010). Contemporary Criminal Law: Concepts, Cases, and Controversies. Sage Publications, Inc. Merryman, J. H., & Pérez-Perdomo, R. (2007). The civil law tradition: an introduction to the legal systems of Europe and. Stanford University Press. Ontario Court of Justice. (2006 / 2007). Retrieved October 27, 2010, from Biennial Report 2006 / 2007: http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/ocj/en/reports/annualreport/06-07.pdf Ontario Court of Justice. (2010 a). Retrieved October 27, 2010, from About the Court: http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/ocj/en/ Ontario Court of Justice. (2010 b, October 28). Retrieved November 4, 2010, from R. v. Duff, 2010 ONCJ 493 (CanLII): http://www.canlii.org/en/on/oncj/doc/2010/2010oncj493/2010oncj493.html Sixth Sense. (2010). Retrieved October 27, 2010, from The distinctions between Civil Law and Criminal Law: http://sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/citizenship/distinction_crim_civil/distinction_crim_civil.asp Wood, G. D. (2002). A history of criminal law in New South Wales: the colonial period, 1788-1900. Sydney: The Federation Press. Read More