Criminal Vs Tort
Assignment 3
Eric Parsons September 8, 2013
It is important to differentiate between crimes, civil offenses, and moral wrongs to understand criminal law. This paper will discuss the differences between criminal, tort, and moral responsibility. There is a responsibility to the public not to commit acts or omissions against the public interest. A crime can be defined as an act or omission that the law makes punishable, generally by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or confinement (Garland, 2012). Criminal law prohibits public wrongs and specifies a punishment against the offender (Simmons, 1984). Thus criminal responsibility is to protect the public from serious harm by punishing the offender typically by incarceration. Criminal law is retributive (Coleman, 2010). The public, by way of the State, or the United States, is the victim as it is the public that is harmed. …show more content…
Tort, or civil responsibility, is a lawsuit between individuals.
Tort liability usually carries a monetary fine and does not identify the loser as a criminal. Tort liability does not provide for a proportional remedy as in criminal responsibility (Simmons, 1984). A party in a tort suit does not face the possibility of “loss of liberty or life” (Garland, 2012). A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil or tort lawsuit. The party may be found innocent in criminal proceedings but still be found guilty in a civil suit. Moral responsibility carries no legal consequences (Garland 2012). The United States does not punish immoral thoughts and actions that are not severe enough to constitute a crime. A moral wrong can also be criminally wrong but these are more restrictive. The community as a whole may find certain behaviors to be ethically or morally wrong but they are not punished unless the rise to the standard of illegal wrongs (Hughes, 2003). In conclusion crimes or criminal responsibility is a punishable offense against the
public.
Tort, or civil, responsibility is typically a monetary fine from one party against another party.
A lack of moral responsibility may be distasteful to the public but it does not rise to the level of criminal acts and therefore has no legal penalty.
References
Coleman, J. (2010). Theories of Tort Law. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/tort-theories/
Garland, N. (2012). Criminal law for the criminal justice professional. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Hughes, B. (2003). The law of Torts: an overview. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/Courses/LA203_Torts_1/LA203_overview.html
Simmons, K. (1984). The Crime/Tort Distinction: Legal Doctrine and Normative Perspectives. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/facultypublications/PDFs/Simons/Crim_Torts_Disti nction.pdf
Eric Parsons September 8, 2013
It is important to differentiate between crimes, civil offenses, and moral wrongs to understand criminal law. This paper will discuss the differences between criminal, tort, and moral responsibility. There is a responsibility to the public not to commit acts or omissions against the public interest. A crime can be defined as an act or omission that the law makes punishable, generally by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or confinement (Garland, 2012). Criminal law prohibits public wrongs and specifies a punishment against the offender (Simmons, 1984). Thus criminal responsibility is to protect the public from serious harm by punishing the offender typically by incarceration. Criminal law is retributive (Coleman, 2010). The public, by way of the State, or the United States, is the victim as it is the public that is harmed. …show more content…
Tort, or civil responsibility, is a lawsuit between individuals.
Tort liability usually carries a monetary fine and does not identify the loser as a criminal. Tort liability does not provide for a proportional remedy as in criminal responsibility (Simmons, 1984). A party in a tort suit does not face the possibility of “loss of liberty or life” (Garland, 2012). A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil or tort lawsuit. The party may be found innocent in criminal proceedings but still be found guilty in a civil suit. Moral responsibility carries no legal consequences (Garland 2012). The United States does not punish immoral thoughts and actions that are not severe enough to constitute a crime. A moral wrong can also be criminally wrong but these are more restrictive. The community as a whole may find certain behaviors to be ethically or morally wrong but they are not punished unless the rise to the standard of illegal wrongs (Hughes, 2003). In conclusion crimes or criminal responsibility is a punishable offense against the
public.
Tort, or civil, responsibility is typically a monetary fine from one party against another party.
A lack of moral responsibility may be distasteful to the public but it does not rise to the level of criminal acts and therefore has no legal penalty.
References
Coleman, J. (2010). Theories of Tort Law. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/tort-theories/
Garland, N. (2012). Criminal law for the criminal justice professional. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Hughes, B. (2003). The law of Torts: an overview. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/Courses/LA203_Torts_1/LA203_overview.html
Simmons, K. (1984). The Crime/Tort Distinction: Legal Doctrine and Normative Perspectives. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://www.bu.edu/lawlibrary/facultypublications/PDFs/Simons/Crim_Torts_Disti nction.pdf