Criminal Cases vs. Civil Wrongful Death Suits
February 15, 2008 15:23

Probably the most famous of all wrongful death cases was the notorious Goldman vs. Simpson case where OJ Simpson was ordered to pay $33 million after being found liable for the death of Ronald Goldman. What was most interesting about this case is the fact that Simpson was found not guilty in the criminal murder case but liable in a wrongful death civil suit. Much of this is due to the fact that in a criminal case guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt whereas the burden of proof in a civil case centers on "preponderance of the evidence". This does not mean wrongful death suits are easy to win rather they are litigated differently than a criminal case.