Final answer:
The goals of civil law are to resolve disputes and provide compensation for harms. The Seventh Amendment ensures the right to a jury trial in civil cases. Civil law requires a lower standard of proof than criminal law, allowing for different outcomes in civil and criminal proceedings.
Step-by-step explanation:
Civil Law and Resolving Disputes
The goals of civil law are to resolve disputes between private parties and to compensate individuals who have suffered harm, be it financial or physical. In contrast to criminal law where the government prosecutes violations of criminal statutes, civil law typically involves individual or business plaintiffs seeking compensation from defendants for alleged harms.
The Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases where the dispute value exceeds twenty dollars, although this is not always incorporated at lower courts such as small claims courts. This right reflects the need for justice and fairness in resolving civil disputes, allowing for a jury to decide on matters where substantial sums of money or property are at stake.
While a criminal conviction requires evidence 'beyond a reasonable doubt,' civil cases only require a preponderance of evidence indicating the defendant's liability. As a result, a defendant acquitted in a criminal trial can still be held responsible in a civil court, as civil and criminal courts operate under different legal standards and principles.
The inclusion of both criminal and civil trial rights in the United States Constitution represents a broader commitment to establishing justice, through a balance between individual rights and societal order, as discussed by philosophers like John Locke and others in the context of the social contract theory.