Final answer:
The government is always the plaintiff in criminal law, where it prosecutes individuals who have committed acts defined as crimes. The criminal law system in the U.S. is part of the adversarial judicial system. Civil law involves disputes between private parties without government prosecution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The government is always the plaintiff in criminal law. When someone commits a criminal act, the government, whether state or federal, charges that person with a crime. This is categorized as criminal law, where conduct that is prohibited and harmful to others is defined, and punishments for such acts are imposed.
Crimes are often classified as either felonies or misdemeanors, with felonies being the more serious of the two. In contrast, civil law cases involve disputes between private parties, and the plaintiff in these cases alleges harm or injury committed by the defendant.
In the adversarial judicial system of the United States, the government as the plaintiff brings criminal cases to court against the defendant accused of violating the law. This is exemplified in constitutional rights cases that reach the federal court system and notable criminal vs. civil cases such as that involving O.J. Simpson.
Public laws, like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, are governmental actions that impact society as a whole; however, they are not the same as individual criminal cases brought by the government as the plaintiff.