legal question.

[denn454]

ok i don't want to go into any details here, but i have a question about civil vs. criminal suits. lets say a friend of mine did something that could be illegal (inturpertation of the law comes into play on this one, the cops let it go) but anyways lets say someone on the other side of the fence wants to press charges. could someone, other than police, press criminal charges or are they limited to civil actions?

i'm not sure if that makes sence. but lets say i steal someones car, the cops don't do much about it but the owner of the car wants something to be done. stealing a car is illegel so could the owner press criminal charges, or is he limited to civil action? or could he get the cops re-involved in the situation?

(no cars were stolden)

 

[Gary Wells]

FWIW & IMHO:
I'm not an attorney, & have no real legal experience here, but I am under the impression that if he/she is persistence enough, charges will be pressed by law enforcement, but where does the District attorney come into play. Can't the district attorney refuse to press charges?

 

[denn454]

the da would most likely go through with this. BUT what about the 7th ammendment (maybe 6th..) and the whole double jeprody thing. the cops already said all is ok and let me, er. my friend go. is this covered? i really don't think anything is going to happen to start with, i just want to know what could happen.

 

[Gary Wells]

I think that it would depend upon what reason that law enforcement let him go. If they let him go due to lack of evidence all might be well. If they let him go due to, let's say, not worth prosecuting, I think law enforcement would be forced to act if enough pressure was put on them, and an actual crime committed. Would also depend on whether the victims, if there were any, were willing to press charges, and what they held for proof. ust a guess, though.

 

[DKREDT]

It seems to me that there are two types of actions possible. Criminal and civil.

If you take Kobe Bryant's issue for example or OJ for that matter, they both had criminal cases to deal with and once resolved had to deal with civil suits as well.

My guess is that you could always bring a civil suit independant of a criminal case.

You would need to be able to fund the attorney fees etc and have a case that an atty feels is worth representing.

 

[87grandnat]

denn454, what did you do this time?

just playing with you,

Joshua

 

[XLR8]

Come on Dennis, what did you do?

If you're in doubt, move to Boulder - the law enforcement in that city is screwed up AND they have plenty of other things they are worrying about.

 

[gnturboray]

In the stealing car situation,,,the owner of the stolen car calls it in as stolen. The police inturn file the charges with the DA's office. It's up to the grand jury to put out indictments. If the subject is indicted then it's up to the DA to prosecute the case.

As far a civil action,,,anything can be tried as a civil case.

 

[TurboJunky]

Criminal charges are only brought by the state. The police don't press charges against someone, the prosecutor's office does. The police compile the incident report and forward that report to the prosecutor's office for review and/or request for a warrant (criminal charge). If the warrant isn't issued it can be DENIED or sent back to the police for further investigation and re-submission for a warrant again.

If the police take the report and find there isn't a crime committed and/or there isn't enough evidence to even submit to the prosecutor then it's pretty much done and over with. However, the victim may persist and try to get the prosecutor to issue charges but they won't unless there's enough evidence to secure a conviction.

If a victim has exhausted all these steps and no criminal charges are issued by the prosecutor the only recourse a victim has is to file a civil suit against the suspect. A civil trial requires a preponderance of evidence (51%) to win a monetary award ONLY. A criminal trial requires a BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT standard to secure a conviction which may result in jail/prison and/or fines.

Hope that helps....

 

[Gary Wells]

Originally posted by TT/A1233
Criminal charges are only brought by the state. The police don't press charges against someone, the prosecutor's office does. The police compile the incident report and forward that report to the prosecutor's office for review and/or request for a warrant (criminal charge). If the warrant isn't issued it can be DENIED or sent back to the police for further investigation and re-submission for a warrant again.

If the police take the report and find there isn't a crime committed and/or there isn't enough evidence to even submit to the prosecutor then it's pretty much done and over with. However, the victim may persist and try to get the prosecutor to issue charges but they won't unless there's enough evidence to secure a conviction.

If a victim has exhausted all these steps and no criminal charges are issued by the prosecutor the only recourse a victim has is to file a civil suit against the suspect. A civil trial requires a preponderance of evidence (51%) to win a monetary award ONLY. A criminal trial requires a BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT standard to secure a conviction which may result in jail/prison and/or fines.

Hope that helps....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the excellent and well written explanation on how those things work. Some I had forgotten, and some I never knew.

 

[denn454]

its nothing that all that bad, i don't think it is, its one of those on the fence things. its not bad, i don't think anyone here would call it bad, but by defination its fairly serious. and no i didn't steal a car. but anyways i think everything has passed. i'm not thinking much else is going to happen.

move to bolder!?!?!?!?! are you crazy!!!!!!!! its a nice enough town and all but i'm not too sure about the required daily tree huggings. and the people.. they uh... well they scare the hell out of me.

and yes you did answer my question tt/a1233, thats what i was thinking but i wasn't too sure if thats exactly how things worked.

 

[QTRMILER]

It depends on what state you live in. In New Jersey, there are instances where a civilian may sign a criminal compaint against someone else. It requires the person filing the complaint to fill out a probable cause statement, the actual complaint and then a judge will review the statement and the judge can simply issue the complaint based on the statement or they may hold a hearing where the accused and the complaintant are present (just like a regular court case) and determine if there is enough "probable cause" to issue the complaint. If the complaint is issued, then there would be a subsequent hearing for the actual guilty or not guilty part. The judge may also not find enough probable cause and then the issue is basically dead (so make sure you have enough proof if you move forward) Also, police officers are not necessarily charged with the duty to file a criminal complaint in all cases based upon the severity of the crime. For instance a kid steals a pack of gum at a store, the store holds onto the kid and the police arrive. The store owner may decide that they do not wish to pursue a complaint in the matter (no victim no crime so to speak). Depending on the type of instance and the way that your state handles these issues will determine your course of action. There are instances that are both, criminal and civil, such as someone one interfering with child custody, there is a criminal complaint for such an action, but the real issue is civil in nature usually because the intended result is to get the other parent to allow visitation at the times set fortn in the divorce agreement. Check with a local attorney or call the police department and ask what you CAN do, explain what you WANT to do and see the answer you get. Dont ask a yes or no question, ask for all options and opinions about how to resolve both aspects of the issue, criminal and civil. Best of luck!