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What’s The Difference Between Civil, Family, & Criminal Law?

If you’ve been involved with Court, it’s not unlikely that you’ve heard different legal terms in courts and got confused about them. The different issues discussed inside a courtroom need different analyses and arguments. That is why lawyers also specialize in different areas of law, and why there are different areas of law for different topics and circumstances.

Some lawyers are versatile and can take different kinds of cases. A Criminal lawyer usually works on criminal law and a family lawyer takes the cases of child custody, divorce, and family violence. Hiring the appropriate lawyer can provide you with the best legal representation you need.

Since not all laws are the same, the lawyer that will represent you will depend on what type of law they are practicing. These classifications of law also involve different parties and courts in discussing or settling the case.

Types of Laws

Although there is a huge variety of different types of law, today we will be covering the main three that are usually applied to the average person.

Civil Law

Civil law refers to the dispute of different parties that deals with the rights of individuals or organizations. Cases under civil law cover any disputes that are not considered criminal. Usually, it involves the settlement of monetary and property disputes or dealing with violations of contracts and agreements between certain individuals.

Family Law

Family law involves legal issues regarding the relationship of family members. These are sensitive issues that may include domestic violence, marriage, divorce, adoption, or child support. In some cases, it can also be with criminal law.

Criminal Law

Criminal law deals with violations against the protection of the public or a nation. This is designed to punish people who have committed crimes against individuals. When the accused individual is found guilty of the crime his freedom can be jeopardized.

How Lawyers Deal With Each Type

To settle a dispute under civil law, lawyers from each party bring the case to a state court or high court. They help the plaintiffs prove that the other party is liable to get paid with compensation or comply with the decided court orders.

Family lawyers represent their clients in family courts or youth courts. Sometimes, they act as professional liaisons to settle a family matter. If both parties are fighting for child custody, the family lawyers make arguments to prove that their client can provide for the needs of the child and is the best caregiver for the child.

People who have committed crimes will need to defend themselves through a criminal lawyer. The criminal lawyer will use every means to prove that their clients are not guilty. These cases are brought to state courts, the court of appeals, or the high court. If a criminal lawyer is not able to defend his client, the accused may be punished with jail terms, fines, or anything that the court decides.

Under criminal law, the accused needs to attend court proceedings or trials with his criminal defense lawyer. They can provide legal advice to the accused on whether they need to plead guilty to lower their sentence or they can claim a trial. If both parties are not satisfied with the decision, they can file an appeal to the court with the help of their lawyers.

All lawyers under these different specializations can question a witness to help their clients win the case. An outstanding criminal lawyer can help the accused win a case by questioning the witness.

When Should You Hire a Lawyer

Civil lawyers can be hired as soon as the plaintiff has sued an individual or an organization. While on family law, if both parties have decided to get divorced or one of them has filed for divorce, then the other party should need to hire a family lawyer as well.

There are also circumstances when you need a family lawyer that does not involve any disputes. If you are applying for an uncontested adoption, you will also need a family lawyer.

Usually, if an individual has been arrested because of a crime, they immediately need a criminal lawyer to represent them. The accused can be investigated by the police as soon as the crime happens. But they are allowed not to give statements until their criminal defense lawyer arrives.

As soon as the case is on trial, the criminal lawyer has an ethical duty not to mislead the court.

Learn the Law

Each case differs from one other. However, it is important to legally represent yourself in court with a good lawyer if your situation demands one. And whether you hire a lawyer or not, it is always wise to spend the time necessary to educate yourself on the relative aspects of the law to your issue.

The post What’s The Difference Between Civil, Family, & Criminal Law? appeared first on Find US Lawyers.



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