Please explain how severe a tort is?

Question

I'm doing a report on drunk driving which is considered a tort in new jersey. I know misdemeanors and torts go on your criminal record, but do torts? Plus would DUI still be considered a tort if you kill someone?

From what I understand torts are more of private wrongs that allow the individuals to sue for compensation. If you commit a criminal tort, it is not a crime, but then what is it?

Answer 1

A "tort" is a private wrong, for which one is entitled to compensation in common law (or as decided by the legislature).

Now, torts do not go on your record. Why? Because to be found "guilty" of a crime, you must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No torts require this standard of proof.

Now, lets turn to your example.

Drunk driving, by itself, is not a tort. In order for there to be a cause of action, there must be a duty (to act reasonably), a breach of that duty to the plaintiff, and that breach of duty must cause the plaintiff harm. For simple drunk driving (get in car drunk, drive, get caught), you have not injured anybody. Hence, while you breached a duty to drive reasonably, that breach has not caused harm.

Whew. What next? Lets say you HIT someone while driving drunk. The tort would USUALLY be negligence (duty to drive reasonably, breached -- swerved all over the road -- caused harm -- hit someone). But, it could also be willful, wanton violation of someone's rights (by getting into car drunk, you acted in wanton violation of rights, which caused harm). This could expose the driver to punitive damages. But, unless the cops catch him and prosecute him criminally, it will not go on the driver's CRIMINAL record.

Why is the burden of proof important? Well, lets take a very famous case, not of drunk driving, but of murder. A famous football player was charged with MURDER (which must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt). He was found NOT GUILTY by a jury, and he has no criminal record.

But wait, he was also charged with the tort of "Battery" which, in this case, caused death (wrongful death). Battery is an INTENTIONAL TORT, which means you must prove wrongful conduct by "clear convincing and satisfactory" evidence. It is the "middle burden" of proof. The football player was found "guilty" or liable by a jury. So he owes millions of dollars in damages, but he does NOT have a criminal record.

Now, there is no TORT of DUI. Instead, one who drives while intoxicated has breached a duty. If he kills someone while driving in that condition, he would likely be found liable for wrongful death.

Now, here's the real kicker. Often, it is BETTER for the family (of the dead person) to sue for negligence in a wrongful death action than for intentional, willful or wanton conduct. Why? Because insurance will pay damages caused by negligence, but usually excludes willful, wanton or intentional conduct. So, while you can get punitive damages for such conduct -- there is no money to be gained (few people have the money to pay such judgments).

Well, I suppose this is more than you were looking for, so let me finish with this.

1. A crime is a violation of the "King's peace." It is a violation of a state law,. The state/gvt prosecutes, and you can be fined and perhaps put in jail. The goal of the criminal system is to punish the wrongdoer and deter others.

2. A tort is a violation of another "individual's" rights. That is, the wrongdoer violated the rights of another. The goal of the tort system is to compensate the victim.

3. Sometimes, for public policy reasons, punitive damages may be awarded even for torts. This is because there is a public policy to prevent egregious conduct. The situations are rare (and controversial).

4. The same conduct can give rise to criminal conduct and tort liability, but the wrongdoer would need to be tried twice.

5. There are other related legal doctrines, called "res judicata" and "collateral estoppel," which essentially say that, if you are found guilty of criminal conduct, those elements are "deemed proven" in the civil case. THe elements of the crime, since they have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal case, are deemed proven for the civil case. The reverse, however, is not true. A person who is "found liabile" in a civil case, whether by a preponderance of the evidence (enough to believe it is more probable than not) is not foreclosed from re-litigating the issue in criminal courts (where the burden is much higher).

Good luck

Answer 2

There is civil and criminal law under our current system. Civil law can be roughly divided into tort, contract, and property law.

A tort is a wrongdoing between private citizens for an act or omission (something that was done or something that should have been done). There are intentional torts (assault and battery, false imprisonment, and defamation), and there are unintentional tort (negligence). A doctor commits a tort when he/she commits malpractice, a builder when a structure collapses, and a driver when the vehicle hurts someone through the driver's negligence. Think of private people suing other people for money.

A crime is between the government and a person. Criminal law deals mainly in the government's ability to punish people for wrongdoings.

Drunk driving, which is primarily a criminal matter, does not become a tort unless a private person is injured and sues the driver. No one can sue a drunk driver just because a person was convicted of drunk driving... there needs to be injury to another person.

It may be a little tricky, because criminal law and tort law sometimes overlap. For instance, an assault and battery is both a crime (for which the government might press charges to punish a wrongdoer) as well as a tort (for which the injured party can sue for money).

Hope this helps.

William Maze

Answer 3

No, it can not go on your criminal record. First of all, a DUI is a Criminal Offense. The DUI itself WILL be on your criminal record. The Tort is a Civil Action. When you file a Tort Claim, you are filing a civil claim, not a criminal claim, for some type of damages. I would imagine the Tort Claim is for damage to the vehicle, property, medical bills, and possibly punitive damages as well (damages to punish). Now, if you don't PAY a Tort Judgement against you, then it will go on your credit record....but no, it will not go on your criminal record. A Tort is merely a Civil Action.

Answer 4

Torts and Criminal offences are two separate legal perspectives that can originate from one action. For example, a person can be charged and convicted for murder under the Criminal code, this would result in incarceration for the person convicted. The same person can also be sued civilly, as a Tort, for wrongful death. If successful, this would result in money damages payable to the person making the claim, a spouse for example. DUI is a criminal offence and can result in a Tortuous action if it the DUI caused injury to another party. A civil action would not result in a criminal record, but a criminal conviction would.

Answer 5

it particularly is a tort, no longer fraud. Mary is appearing exterior the scope of her employment so her company, Dr. Jones, does no longer be to blame even though it particularly is a undeniable guess that he would be sued besides. If the medicine brought about Trudy's dying, Mary could be charged with involuntary manslaughter.