Legal Question in Business Law in California

The question, as asked, is puzzling. There aren't two kinds of crime, one 'criminal" and the other "civil." However, if you were wondering what the difference is between a civil case or matter, on the one hand, and a criminal case or matter on the other, I can give you a few aspects of the differences. First, the same harm may often be brought to court as either a civil matter, a criminal matter, or (separately) as both. This is rather common in matters like fraud. A major difference between the civil case and the criminal case is in who brings the action and acts as plaintiff. In a civil suit, the victim is the plaintiff; while in a criminal case, the suit is brought by a district attorney and the "people" or the "state" is the plaintiff. There are important procedural and evidentiary differences between civil and criminal actions; the standard of proof is much higher in a criminal case, and the remedies are different -- in a civil case, the most frequent remedy is an award of money damages, and other kinds of award are possible, but never incarceration. In a criminal case, fines, jail or prison time are possible, as is (sometimes) an order for restitution to the victim.

There is no such thing as a civil crime. By definition, civil cases are non-criminal and only criminal cases involve crimes.

Mr. Whipple and Mr. McCormick are right. The key difference between a crime and a civil wrong, which is usually called a "tort," is that a tort harms particular people or entities while a crime harms society. Many acts are both crimes and torts, but it's possible to be only one or the other. Defamation, for instance, is a tort but not a crime. Drug possession is a crime but not a tort.

The victims of a tort can bring a civil case, but only the government can bring a criminal case. Where a particular act qualifies as both a tort and a crime, there can be both civil and criminal court cases. Often, though, there will only be one or the other. And sometimes neither will happen.