Criminal vs. Civil Lawsuits: What Survivors Need to Know

How does a client know the difference between their criminal case and a potential civil case?  We’re often asked this by new clients. Folks need to understand that the criminal case will almost exclusively be handled by a prosecutor’s office. And those lawyers work for the government. They don’t work for the victims. They don’t represent survivors of abuse. We represent survivors directly. So when somebody calls us and they hire us, they hire us, unlike a prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor may advocate for you in your interest; they may want your perpetrator to go to prison,  but they are not out necessarily to protect your interests. And they can’t recover anything in civil court. So to pursue a civil case, which is a case for money damages against an institutional defendant and against the perpetrator, you need to hire your own civil lawyer. And our involvement in the criminal process is limited. We can help advocate for you or help you understand the criminal process, but they are two distinct systems. And what I often tell clients is that there are two courthouses. Now, in reality, there’s actually one building, but imagine there were two buildings down the street from each other. In one courthouse, they’re going to help send your abuser, your perpetrator, to prison. In the other courthouse, that’s where we help hold institutions accountable and help people get, you know, compensation or reparations for what happened to them. Because that’s not going to happen in that first courthouse, you know. So, how does our law firm help with regard to the criminal case in that first courthouse where the perpetrator may be sent to prison or held accountable by the criminal justice system? You know, we often liaise with the prosecutor’s office or work with the prosecutor’s office to get them evidence or information that they need about the perpetrator or about our client to make sure they can do the best job that they can. And we have example after example over the years of being able to provide key evidence to the authorities, to prosecutors’ offices,  and to police to help them help our clients make sure that the perpetrator is held accountable and goes to prison for what they’ve done. Although our primary responsibility is representation in the civil case, in most states, we are not allowed to directly represent our clients in criminal court or be a party to the criminal process in any formal way.