Eli5 – How can someone be proven not guilty of murder in criminal court but still sued in civil court?
In: 19
In criminal court, it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you’re guilty – that is, there’s no way a sane person would think you didn’t do it.
Civil court, standard for a judgement is lower. You can get a ruling if you can only show the guy PROBABLY did it.
EDIT: also, there’s a big difference between sued & convicted. As long as there’s some element of logic to your case ( your suit against Elon Musk for selling your kidney to martians is never going to see the inside of a courtroom), you can drag anyone you want into civil court – doesn’t mean you’re going to win, though
Latest Answers