Criminal Law Basics
The United States of America has two types of courts, Federal Courts and State Courts. At both the federal and state level there are two different sides to the court system. There is the civil system and the criminal system.
Criminal law deals with lawsuits brought by the government against a private person or company who broke a criminal law. In a criminal case the punishment for being found guilty is usually some type of fine, probation or jail sentence.
Civil law deals with lawsuits between two or more private individuals or companies. The punishment for losing a civil suit is loss of money or loss of property. Civil suits include actions such as evictions, class action lawsuits and mortgage foreclosures.
The United States of America has two types of courts, Federal Courts and State Courts. At both the federal and state level there are two different sides to the court system. There is the civil system and the criminal system.
The civil system is all about money. Civil law...
Violent crimes are those that invoke fear in the common citizen. Violent offenses usually contain some element of force or a threat of force against a person. Some jurisdictions classify offenses as violent crimes if the crime involves a strong likelihood of psychological...
Under the Bill of Rights any areas of the law not expressly reserved or given to the federal government are reserved to the States or the people. The founding fathers of our nation believed that the local government was in the best position to protect and provide for its...
Federal crimes are those brought about by federal law. The federal laws are made by Congress and enforced by various agencies.
Although federal laws can be widely enforced, the federal government usually limits itself to enforcing crimes that cut across state lines, that...
Misdemeanors, by definition, are crimes punishable by less than one year in jail. Misdemeanors are usually minor offenses such as jaywalking, driving without a license and petit theft. But they can also include charges that are more serious such as prostitution, battery or...
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Criminal Offense Categories
The United States of America has two types of courts, Federal Courts and State...
