1. Learn the differences between family court and criminal court
Question and answer
What if I have family court and criminal court at the same time?There are a few differences between family court and criminal court. Here are some of the main ones.
Parties
In criminal court, the are the:
- the partner charged with a crime, and
- the government.
In family court, the parties are usually just you and your partner. Sometimes, another might be involved. For example, the if one partner has not paid support.
Purpose
Criminal courts decide if a person charged with a crime is guilty.
Family courts decide how to resolve family law issues that partners cannot agree on when they separate. For example, , , , , and .
Family court uses a legal test called the when making decisions about children. One thing this test looks at is if a parent has been violent or abusive to the child or anyone living in the home.
Legal test
In criminal court, the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. This means the evidence must show that there is no reasonable explanation for what happened, other than that the accused did it. If there is any other reasonable explanation, the accused is found not guilty.
In family court, the standard of proof is a . This means the judge has to decide whose story is more believable.
There can be a different result in each court because of the different standards of proof.
For example, your partner may be found not guilty of assault in criminal court. But in family court, the judge might decide to give you a . They may do this because they believe your story that your partner assaulted you more than they believe your partner's story.
Court orders
In criminal court, if your partner is found guilty, they might go to jail and get a criminal record. Or they may be ordered to follow conditions, such as not contacting you or your children.
In family court, usually no one goes to jail or gets a criminal record.
Your family court and criminal court orders can say different things. For example, conditions from criminal court can conflict with parenting time or restraining orders from family court. If this happens, you have to get one court to change its order.