Lawsuit

I. Purpose of this Booklet Every crime victim has the right to file a civil lawsuit seeking financial compensation from the perpetrator or from other parties whose unreasonable conduct gave rise to conditions which allowed the crime to occur. The purpose of this handbook is to provide victims and service providers with a basic understanding of the civil justice system so that victims might consider this important option and know where to turn for help. II. Victims' Financial Losses and Potential Sources of Compensation Almost thirty million Americans are victimized by crime each year. The consequences of crime frequently extend far beyond the criminal act. All too often, victims are left with expenses for medical procedures, physical rehabilitation, counseling, lost wages, and property damage. It has been estimated that crime costs society $450 billion annually. Restitution A criminal court may order a perpetrator to reimburse certain expenses incurred by a victim, victim's survivors, or persons who have become responsible for the maintenance and support of a victim as a result of a crime. Unfortunately, even when a court orders restitution, it is often not collected. This lack of enforcement, combined with limitations on the type of damages that may be included in a restitution order, often results in restitution falling far short of meeting victims' needs. State Crime Victim Compensation Compensation may also be available to victims from a state's crime victim compensation fund. Compensation funds are designed to reimburse victims for certain losses and expenses resulting from the crime, such as funeral expenses, medical bills, counseling fees, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket costs incurred by the victim. The amount of compensation may be reduced by amounts that the victim has received from insurance or other sources. In addition, state laws provide limits on how much money can be given for an individual crime or a particular type of loss. There are also other restrictions on eligibility for victim compensation. Civil Actions Can Help Where Restitution and Crime Victim Compensation Cannot Both restitution and compensation often do not cover a victim's full economic losses, and neither source pays anything for hard-to-quantify damages such as pain and suffering. A civil lawsuit may provide more complete compensation to a victim. III. Why File a Civil Lawsuit? Some of the benefits of civil actions may include: Control of the Case - Victims have greater control in a civil suit than in a criminal case because they are a party to the civil case, cannot be excluded from the courtroom, and have final approval of settlement proposals. Compensation - Civil actions can provide greater compensation for victims for the monetary damages they suffered, such as medical expenses and lost income. Civil actions can also compensate victims for the emotional damage they have suffered. Justice and Accountability - Civil suits can hold offenders directly accountable to victims. These suits give victims their "day in court," regardless of whether there was a criminal conviction or any prosecution at all. Crime Prevention - In addition to suing perpetrators, victims can often sue other responsible parties. Civil actions provide economic incentives for crime prevention. Businesses such as hotels, apartments, and 2 3 shopping centers sometimes fail to enact proper security measures because they view such expenses as unnecessary. When businesses are held accountable for safety lapses, proper security becomes cheaper than the cost of defending lawsuits. Crime victims' civil suits have resulted in increased security protection in public places, better oversight and supervision of daycare facilities, and countless other improvements. IV. Civil Versus Criminal Justice A significant difference between the criminal and civil court systems is that in a civil case, the victim controls essential decisions shaping the case. It is the victim who decides whether to sue, accept a settlement offer, or go to trial. The Criminal Justice System The criminal justice process begins after a crime has been committed and reported to law enforcement. If an arrest has been made and charges have been filed, the offender may be prosecuted. In a criminal prosecution, the crime is considered "a crime against the state." The victim's role is primarily defined as a witness for the prosecution. Although the prosecuting attorney may be very helpful to the victim and the victim's family, the prosecutor still represents the interests of the state, not the victim. The criminal justice process judges the guilt or innocence of accused offenders, and when offenders are found guilty, attempts to punish or rehabilitate them. The Civil Justice System The civil justice system does not attempt to determine the innocence or guilt of an offender. Offenders are also not put in prison. Rather, civil courts attempt to determine whether an offender or a third party is liable for the injuries sustained as a result of the crime. A civil court's finding of liability usually means that the defendant must pay the victim, or the victim's family, monetary damages. The civil justice system can provide victims with monetary resources necessary to rebuild their lives. Furthermore, the civil justice system often provides victims and their families with a sense of justice that criminal courts fail to provide. Rather than holding defendants accountable for their "crimes against the state," the civil justice system holds defendants who are found liable directly accountable to their victims. Burden of Proof In the civil justice system, liability must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, which simply means that one side's evidence is more persuasive than the other's. In other words, the plaintiff must prove there is a fifty-one percent or greater chance that the defendant committed all the elements of the particular wrong. This standard is far lower than the "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" required for a conviction in the criminal justice system. Therefore, it is sometimes possible to find the defendant liable in a civil case even though a verdict of "not guilty" was rendered in the criminal case. (A civil case can also be successful even if the offender was never prosecuted.) A good example of this principle is the O.J. Simpson case. Simpson was prosecuted for the murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ron Goldman. In 1995, the jury in the criminal case found Simpson "not guilty" of the murders. Despite Simpson's acquittal, the families of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson. A trial was held in 1997 and Simpson was found liable for the deaths of Brown and Goldman. The jury in the civil case awarded the victims' families $33.5 million in damages. While a criminal conviction may increase the chances of a perpetrator being held civilly liable, it is not a requirement for bringing a civil action. 4 5 CRIMINAL CASES