Eli5 – How can someone be proven not guilty of murder in criminal court but still sued in civil court?
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It isn’t “proven” not guilty, it is not proven guilty. Not quite the same idea. The burden of proof in civil law is less strict than the burden of proof in criminal law. “beyond a reasonable doubt” is the basic idea for deciding conviction in criminal law. “The preponderance of evidence” is the idea in civil law. There is not a burden of proof that a criminal act has occurred, only a need to prove that harm was done and the person involved is responsible for that harm occurring. No criminal behavior is required, even, although that is certainly a big help in a civil trial.
Being found “Not guilty” is not really a decision declaring that the person did not do the act. It is simply saying that the proof is not good enough to declare it as certain. Not guilty is not a declaration of innocence. There is no declaration of innocence in our court system.
Certainly, sometimes the defendants do prove that they could not have done the crime. Usually, though, it is not possible to prove that a person did NOT do the crime (many innocent people cannot prove that they didn’t do it). It is possible to say that the evidence does not prove that the person did the crime, though. Innocent until proven guilty rather than guilty unless you prove your innocence. Big difference.
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