War has claimed countless American lives. The Civil War alone accounted for the death of 620,000 soldiers and thousands of civilian casualties.
Today we fight a domestic war against homicide, which shows figures comparable to the Civil War. The United States of America ranks 24th in world with .04 murders per 1,000 citizens. While rankings are generally a good thing, we are happy that we don’t rival Colombia and South Africa for the top spot with .6 and .5 deaths, respectively, per 1,000 people. Put in perspective, the combined amount of soldiers that died on active duty in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War does not match up to the amount of Americans murdered in the 20th century!
Regretfully, we can never be completely immune to a being affected by a death of a relative. In that event we must be informed on the course of action to take within the US legal system. Litigation may be pursued through the criminal courts within the legal jurisdiction or civil courts in the form of a tort, for example you can use an Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer.
The most famous example would be O.J. Simpson’s “Trial of the Century”. Despite a strong prosecution, Simpson won criminal case and was not criminally charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, nor Ronald Goldman. Criminal murder cases are prosecuted by the legal government entity that holds jurisdiction and charges generally appear in the form of murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide.
Several years after Simpson’s acquittal in the criminal case, the Brown and Goldman families sued Simpson for damages in a civil wrongful death trial. In the civil trial Simpson was found liable for the wrongful death damages of Goldman and the battery of Brown.
Civil cases can be advantageous for several reasons:
1. Personal Involvement. In a civil case you are personally involved in the prosecution, which gives individuals more control over the course of the trial.
2. Lower Standard of Proof. Criminal convictions require “clear and convincing evidence” or proof “beyond a reasonable doubt”; whereas, civil suits only require a “preponderance of evidence” in order to hold the defendant liable. This gives families a greater chance to achieve retribution in civil court.
3. Prosecution of a Company. Criminal cases must charge specific individuals with a murder. If a family member seeks retribution for the death of a family member from a company, it cannot be brought before a criminal court, rather, a wrongful death suit must be brought to trial in civil court.
Pursue civil action in the event a family member dies at the hands of another. Civil cases give relatives control over the course that cases take and increase the chances for retribution on the offender. A great source would include using a Phoenix wrongful death lawyer.