Advisory to the Pro Se Litigant: #1: What is Civil Litigation and Criminal Litigation?

Civil Litigation generally includes all disputes that are formally submitted to a court, where one person (or group of persons or corporation) claims that another person (or group of persons or corporation) violated the law in a way that caused harm. In almost all cases, civil litigation is between two individuals, groups of individuals, or businesses. Governments also engage in civil litigation, both as plaintiffs, and defendants, when they are involved in disputes that do not qualify as criminal litigation. The objective of civil litigation is to make the harmed party/parties whole (make the parties whole =where the party or parties would have been absent the harm). Criminal Litigation generally includes disputes where a government is seeking to punish an individual or group of individuals for harms they caused society. The classic example is that of a murder where although there might be some form of retribution as part of the punishment, the objective is not necessarily to make the harmed party whole (which is impossible in the case of murder), but to punish the wrongdoer. Also, unlike civil litigation which is between individuals or groups, criminal litigation is brought by the government against the alleged wrongdoers.