There are three important differences between the civil process and the criminal process. One, a litigant under civil process must have "standing." This means that the person initiating the suit much have a personal stake in the outcome. Two, the standard of proof in civil cases is "preponderance of evidence" which means that decisionmakers are allowed to come to decisions despite having moral doubts. Three, is that many of the normal due process guarantees of the 5th and 14th Amendments do not apply. The right to a jury trial cannot be assumed, nor will anybody pay for your attorney fees. It might be helpful to clarify some differences in terminology also, as follows:
| Criminal Process | Civil Process |
| Apprehension by agents of government | Plaintiff brings suit against defendant |
| Preliminary examination | Summons |
| Grand jury or Information | Pleadings |
| Arraignment and pleading | Trial |
| Trial | Verdict |
| Verdict | Judgment and sentencing |
| Judgment and sentencing | Appeal |
| Appeal | Enforcement |
| Execution of sentence | Source: Abraham (1996) |
A plaintiff begins the civil process by paying a fee and filing a complaint or petition with the clerk of the court. The complaint states the facts, the damages alleged, and relief being sought. Any court with both subject matter AND person jurisdiction can take the complaint as the appropriate venue (unless another venue is sought, but generally there's plenty of room for shopping around). The federal law states that the proper venue is the district in which either the plaintiff or the defendant reside, or the district where the injury occurred. State venue statutes also provide some room for shopping, but generally try to keep the case in the country where land is located, if land is involved in the case. Once the clerk finishes filing the case, a copy of the complaint is attached to a summons, and a "process server" (usually a law enforcement official, but can be a private service) then issues it to the defendant. The summons requires a response called a "pleading" within 30 days usually. Two types of pretrial motions are deserving of note at this point:
· motion to clarify or object to plaintiff's petition -- this may take the form of requiring the plaintiff to be more specific; asking the court to throw this ridiculous thing out (this action is called a demurrer); or it may take the form of an "answer" (denial) accompanied by a "counterclaim" or countersuit
· motion for discovery -- this may involve depositions (sworn testimonies under oath), interrogatories (written questions that must be answered under oath), the production of documents, and/or examination by a physician
Most civil actions are settled during pretrial conference, a stage of civil process where the parties try to facilitate an agreement normally in the judge's chambers. The general practice is to only allow the judge and lawyers in such conferences. If no agreement seems forthcoming, the parties will at least try to arrive at various "stipulations" where they agree on the factual basis of certain things.
A civil trial will generally use fewer than twelve jurors, and they will have undergone "voir dire" consisting of peremptory challenges (excusing a juror without stating a reason) and challenges for cause. The lawyers will make statements, call witnesses, and move for a directed verdict (stating that the case is closed because something is proven). Several jurisdictions allow jurors in civil trials to ask questions of witnesses themselves, but usually by passing handwritten copies of these questions to the judge. The usual direct-cross-redirect-recross pattern of questioning witnesses is followed, and the plaintiff gets the last word, as usual. Jury deliberations must be done without any outside contact, which means sleeping accommodations and meals. After the civil trial, there are important post-trial motions, such as the motion for "judgment notwithstanding the verdict" which argues to the judge that no reasonable person would have come up with the verdict that the jury did. Losing parties usually file motions for a new trial, which usually has to be because of some new evidence, errors in the production of evidence (something that is also grounds for appeal, along with any irregularities in the judge's instructions to the jury), excessive damages or grossly inadequate damages (although these are more commonly associated with a motion for relief from judgment). Far more significant is the motion to execute the judgment, which brings in law enforcement to seize or lien property and begin to sell it at auction to help satisfy the judgment.
