Two Courtrooms, One Incident: What Survivors Should Expect When Civil and Criminal Cases Run Together
Wondering why the criminal case against the person who hurt you seems to be moving on a completely different track than your own civil claim? That’s not a coincidence, and it’s not a mistake either. Civil and criminal cases stemming from the same incident are legally separate proceedings, and understanding how they run in parallel can help you know what to expect from each one.
Why These Cases Don’t Actually Depend on Each Other
Criminal and civil cases serve fundamentally different purposes. A criminal case is brought by the government to determine guilt and impose punishment, while a civil case is brought by an injured person seeking compensation. According to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, protections against being tried twice for the same offense apply only to criminal prosecutions, meaning a civil lawsuit over the same incident can proceed regardless of what happens in the criminal case. This is exactly why a survivor can still pursue, and win, a civil claim even if the criminal case results in an acquittal, a plea to a lesser charge, or no charges at all.
Why the Standards of Proof Are So Different
Here’s the detail that surprises a lot of survivors. Criminal cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, a genuinely high bar designed to protect defendants from wrongful conviction. Civil cases require only a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it’s more likely than not that the claim is true. That gap matters enormously. A defendant found not guilty in criminal court, where the burden was much higher, can still be found liable in a civil case built on the very same facts.
What Running in Parallel Actually Looks Like
Survivors navigating both processes at once should expect a few realities:
- The cases may move on entirely different timelines, with one resolving well before the other.
- Evidence and testimony from one case can sometimes become relevant to the other, though the two remain legally distinct.
- A criminal conviction can strengthen a related civil claim, since it was established under a higher standard of proof than the civil case requires.
- Decisions in the criminal case, including plea deals or sentencing, don’t automatically determine the outcome of the civil claim.
Why Coordination Between the Two Matters
Because these cases proceed independently, survivors often benefit from understanding how developments in one might affect strategy in the other, whether that means timing certain filings or being mindful of statements made in one proceeding that could surface in the other.
Two Cases, One Coordinated Strategy
Navigating parallel civil and criminal proceedings involves layers of strategy that most people never anticipate needing to think about. Our New York criminal defense attorneys at The Law Offices of Jason Goldman understand how these two tracks interact and what that means for everyone involved.
Need help from a skilled defense team? Contact us today to discuss your case.