Crime Victim: Accepting Money to Halt a Criminal Prosecution

UPDATED: Jul 12, 2023Fact Checked

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Jeffrey Johnson

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

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UPDATED: Jul 12, 2023

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UPDATED: Jul 12, 2023Fact Checked

A victim cannot tell the State to halt a criminal prosecution. The State makes this decision. The victim can play a key part in the State’s argument. A victim can severely hinder the State’s case by becoming a resistant and argumentative witness. The State may be able to make a good case if it has other witnesses who will offer reliable testimony. Your decision to accept the victim’s offer should depend on the facts of the case. Can the State prove you committed the offense without the victim’s testimony?

The State may not have a good case against you. The victim can still initiate a civil case against you. The burden of proof is lower in a civil case than in a criminal case. Cases move slowly in civil and criminal court. Typically, a person alleged to have committed an offense that caused great financial damage must go to criminal and civil court in reference to the same incident. The threat of having many court dates is enough to make most people settle. Criminal and civil court dockets usually last for hours. If you are appearing with an attorney, the attorney will charge you for the time they spend in court.

The victim files the civil case as an incentive for you. They want you to pay their damages before the criminal case goes to trial. The implication is that if you settle in the civil case, they will persuade the prosecutor to drop the charges against you in the criminal case. The victim has a reason to try and get money out of you before you face a criminal trial. They may lose their ability to recover from you if you are sentenced to jail time, prison time, or probation that restricts your employment.

A victim can ask to have a record of related criminal court proceedings admitted into evidence in their civil case. The prosecutor can ask to have a record of the related civil court proceedings admitted into evidence in the criminal case. It is within the discretion of each judge to allow or disallow the other court’s proceedings to be admitted into evidence in their case.

 

The resolution of one case may or may not affect the resolution of the other. A victim can succeed in a civil action against you, yet you can prevail in the related criminal case. You can prevail in the civil case, yet be found guilty in the criminal case. It depends on how the judges and/or juries of the two courtrooms see the facts.

A victim who does not care about recovering money from you is likely to ask that their civil case be delayed. They want your criminal case to be resolved first. In certain situations, the victim is more likely to win a civil suit if you have already been found guilty of the offense in criminal court.

If the victim asks you to pay compensation in exchange for refusing to testify in the criminal case, and they also promise to drop their civil case, should you take the offer? This decision is up to you. You should consult an experienced criminal defense attorney who is also a civil defense attorney on this matter.

Case Studies: Exploring Legal Dynamics in Criminal and Civil Cases

Case Study 1: Accepting Money to Halt a Criminal Prosecution

John, the defendant, is facing a criminal prosecution initiated by Sarah, the victim. Sarah offers John compensation in exchange for refusing to testify in the criminal case and promises to drop her civil case against him. John must consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney to determine whether accepting the offer is in his best interest.

Case Study 2: Civil and Criminal Proceedings

In this case, Mark is accused of causing great financial damage to Sarah. Sarah initiates a civil case against Mark, seeking compensation. Meanwhile, the state files criminal charges against Mark based on Sarah’s testimony and other evidence. The admissibility of each court’s proceedings is up to the discretion of the judges involved, and the outcomes of the civil and criminal cases may differ.

Case Study 3: Delaying Civil Case for Criminal Resolution

John is facing both criminal charges and a civil case initiated by Sarah. However, Sarah requests that her civil case be delayed until after the resolution of the criminal trial. By doing so, Sarah aims to increase her chances of success in the civil suit if John is found guilty in criminal court.

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Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

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