Do Now – p. 92• Think of a court case that you have

either seen on television or read about in the paper. oWho was on trial?oWhat was the alleged crime?oWhat was the result of the trial?

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Today’s Objectives• What is the difference

between criminal and civil law?• How does a court room

actually work? • Who are the key players in a

court room?

Criminal v. Civil Law

Civil Law• Refers to laws passed to

govern conflicts between two parties

• Cases are usually about property, injuries, or terms of a contract

• In most cases, one party sues another for money or damages

• To be found guilty there must be a “preponderance of evidence”

• Tried usually before a jury

Criminal Law• Refers to laws passed to

protect society• Punishes those who break

such laws with fines, jail time, etc.

• Prosecuted by the government

• To be convicted, must be found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”

• Tried usually before a jury

Notesp. 93

• There are two different kinds of legal conflicts: criminal and civil

This means that there can be no reasonable

explanation for what happened other than that

the accused did it

This means that one party must prove that it is more likely than not that the other party is

responsible

Criminal or Civil?• A man sues his business partner

for breaking a contract?• A man kills his business partner?• A woman sues a grocery store

after falling on a slippery floor?• A woman gets caught stealing

from a grocery story?

Civil

CRIMINAL

Civil

CRIMINAL

Courtroom Activity• You each have a diagram of the

people in a courtroom• Your identity has already been

filled in• You must travel around the room

and fill in the identity and role for all the other people in this picture

Paste as a flap on p.

93

Reflection – p. 92• Who do you think the most

important person is in the courtroom and why?

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