# Traffic violations are civil, not criminal--what else? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121 "2006-12-06T21:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/1 "2006-12-06T21:17:06Z")
A traffic citation is a civil offense, not a criminal offense. You are still breaking the law, you are still accountable, you can be tried and convicted. But it is not a misdemeanor or a felony. What other infractions fall into this category? Bonus round what is the difference, in practical terms? I guess you can’t do jail time for a traffic ticket, per se. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/2 "2006-12-06T21:19:34Z")
Well, apparently you can be sued in civil court and found liable for wrongfully causing someone’s death without having a criminal conviction for murder… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/3 "2006-12-06T21:25:00Z")
Parking. Code violations. I am a bit of an expert on such. Health, Building, Professional, Blight, etc. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/4 "2006-12-06T22:22:04Z")
As it was explained to me once, civil codes deal mostly with offenses against codes or rules rather than offenses against people or their property. So, things like speeding, parking illegally or running off and not paying the bank for a car loan are civil offenses. Stealing a person’s car would be a criminal act. Note that in either scenario of taking a person’s car or not paying the auto finance company, you’re in posession of a car you shouldn’t be, but one’s a felony and one’s simply a civil offense. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/5 "2006-12-06T22:55:57Z")
Yes and no. Criminal law properly defined is when the state is the plaintiff in a case. Penal law is that subset of it that governs “crimes” in the normal usage of the word. But within the category of State vs. John Doe cases, a variety of categories are used. First, _treason_ is generally an offense unto itself, “outranking” in its heinousness any other crime, as it is an offense aimed at the injury to the state itself. The most serious of crimes (except treason when classed separately) are _felonies_. Felonies for which the death sentence can potentially be imposed, or carrying a life sentence, are _capital crimes_. Somewhat lesser but still serious crimes are _misdemeanors_. In most legal systems, these are the two (or three) kinds of **crimes**. But there is generally a class of offense lower than misdemeanor, variously termed “infraction,” “violation,” or “petty offense” among other usages – there’s no consensus among criminal codes. Disturbing the peace, public intoxication when it was a crime, trespassing on posted land without criminal intent, are examples of the sort of “crime” that fall into this category. Penalties will of course vary but often call for no or minimal jail time, only a fine. Traffic offenses such as speeding, unsafe passing, failure to obey a stop sign are “criminal” violations in that they are State vs. Joe Motorist court cases. But they are generally not “penal” violations – crimes _sensu strictu_. However, many if not most states regard the more heinous of traffic offenses as misdemeanors (and rarely felonies) – driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, these sorts of offenses. Likewise, environmental laws are usually “criminal” in the sense that the state, in the person of the enforcement section of the state’s environmental agency, prosecutes offenders. But the outcome is to get the polluters to stop and/or pay hefty fines (often used in rehabilitation of polluted areas). And again the classification is not generally in accord with the criminal law generally, but for severe offenses may be deemed a misdemeanor or a felony. (Willfully and knowingly discharging poisonous toxins into a municipal water supply, for example.) Zoning laws usually class their violations as civil rather than criminal in nature, the municipality in its corporate capacity suing for remedies rather than seeking prosecution. But my experience with such laws is that they generally have a virtually unused section that provides for criminal prosecution, presumably when informal and civil-law efforts to correct a problem have failed. **Elmwood** or others may have more relevant information on this, as my experience was fairly limited in geographic scope. As **Dr Deth** notes, almost every code has a section/article/title/whatever providing for penalties. Whether it’s the state’s construction standards or the legal procedures for operating a hydroelectric plant, it’s been codified and enacted into law, and violation of that code is a non-penal “crime.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/6 "2006-12-07T03:50:38Z")
Copyright and trademark law are civil, not criminal violations. You can’t be put in jail for violations (assuming no piracy for sale), but you can be sued and be forced to pay a fine to the copyright/trademark holder. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/7 "2006-12-07T10:12:58Z")
In New York, at least, minor traffic infractions are criminal, not civil, and prosecuted as such. Under New York Penal Law section 10.00, there are four categories of “offense” which may be criminally prosecuted: (1) felonies (more than one year imprisonment), (2) misdemeanors (up to one year imprisonment), (3) violations (up to 15 days imprisonment), and (4) traffic infractions (offenses defined as such under the Vehicle & Traffic Law). Although “crimes” are defined as only misdemeanors and felonies, traffic infractions are criminal offenses and are treated as such for prosecution and procedural purposes. The rules for fighting a ticket in traffic court are, of course, much more informal than a murder prosecution, but the basic principles are the same, and the defendant has the same basic rights and protections as in a more serious criminal proceeding. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/8 "2006-12-07T13:37:46Z")
Other posts sound pretty knowledgeable but I didn’t see credentials so I will throw these things in: Criminal law governs breaking laws that entail punishments and it is in re criminal law that you have a right to trial by jury, to not incriminate yourself, to conviction only beyond reasonable doubt, etc. Civil law governs people wronging one another and the wronged party appealing to the courts for redress. The courts then decide which side is favored by a preponderance of evidence and how much to reward them by levying fines or forcing actions. Anybody that can straighten any of this out please do - it’s just my understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/9 "2006-12-07T14:20:50Z")
I once went to pay my traffic fine _long_ after I should have. The clerk informed me that it was a good thing that I came in to pay it voluntarily, and I was fortunate not to have been stopped by a policeman from that jurisdiction. Why? Because the deadline for parking the fine had passed, and at that point I violated Contempt Of Court, and _that’s_ something they could have jailed me for, if I had been stopped by one of their officers. Or so the clerk said… ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/10 "2006-12-07T14:59:41Z")
There is a class of public law violation which is called a civil infraction in some jurisdictions. \*E.g., \* > [@](#): > > - Off-Road Violations (T.C. Section 11-70.1) > - Waste – Weeds and Debris – (TC 15-16) > - Animal Waste – (4-28 (1)) > - Bicycle/Skateboard Violations > - Building Code Violations > - Junked Motor Vehicles – (TC 11-65 ) > - False Alarms – 11-2(5) (b) (c) 11-2 > - Noise Violations [http://www.tucsonaz.gov/courts/Court\_Info/Civil\_Infractions/civil\_infractions.html](http://www.tucsonaz.gov/courts/Court_Info/Civil_Infractions/civil_infractions.html) [http://www.cityofallenpark.org/Web%20data/Ordinances/penalties.htm](http://www.cityofallenpark.org/Web%20data/Ordinances/penalties.htm) Some states actually call traffic violations misdemeanors: > [@](#): > > Most moving violations are minor misdemeanors unless the violator has a previous conviction [http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/police/pages/-5960-/12240.pdf](http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/police/pages/-5960-/12240.pdf); [http://www1.umn.edu/usls/pdfs/PETTYMIS.pdf](http://www1.umn.edu/usls/pdfs/PETTYMIS.pdf) [QUOTE=RealityChuck] Copyright and trademark law are civil, not criminal violations. You can’t be put in jail for violations (assuming no piracy for sale), but you can be sued and be forced to pay a fine to the copyright/trademark holder. [/QUOTE] In most cases this is true, but there are some rather large exceptions: It’s a crime to willfully infringe: > [@](#): > > (1) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, or > (2) by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000, > **[17 U.S. Code § 506 - Criminal offenses](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/506)** The term “financial gain” includes receipt, or expectation of receipt, of anything of value, including the receipt of other copyrighted works. 17 U.S.C. § 101. Similarly, > [@](#): > > Whoever, without the consent of the performer or performers involved, knowingly and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain— > (1) fixes the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance in a copy or phonorecord, or reproduces copies or phonorecords of such a performance from an unauthorized fixation; > (2) transmits or otherwise communicates to the public the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance; or > (3) distributes or offers to distribute, sells or offers to sell, rents or offers to rent, or traffics in any copy or phonorecord fixed as described in paragraph (1), regardless of whether the fixations occurred in the United States; > shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, or if the offense is a second or subsequent offense, shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both. So profit is defined very broadly, and there are some provisions that don’t require a profit motive, even with the broad definition. Also, there’s a newer statute that amends the criminal provisions of the copyright act to include: > [@](#): > > without the authorization of the copyright owner, knowingly uses or attempts to use an audiovisual recording device to transmit or make a copy of a motion picture or other audiovisual work protected under title 17, or any part thereof, from a performance of such work in a motion picture exhibition facility It also prohibits willful infringement: > [@](#): > > ``(C) by the distribution of a work being prepared > for commercial distribution, by making it available on a > computer network accessible to members of the public, if > such person knew or should have known that the work was > intended for commercial distribution. [http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl109-9.html](http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl109-9.html) Will these cases be prosecuted? _See_, [Criminal Division | Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) | United States Department of Justice](http://www.cybercrime.gov/usamarch2001_1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/11 "2006-12-07T15:25:52Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] Zoning laws usually class their violations as civil rather than criminal in nature, the municipality in its corporate capacity suing for remedies rather than seeking prosecution. But my experience with such laws is that they generally have a virtually unused section that provides for criminal prosecution, presumably when informal and civil-law efforts to correct a problem have failed. **Elmwood** or others may have more relevant information on this, as my experience was fairly limited in geographic scope. [/QUOTE] You’re essentially correct. Few have gone to jail for zoning or building code violations. Enforcing bodies seek relief, not punishment. If a violator does not resolve the violation, the penalties are usually financial, and imposed on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/12 "2006-12-07T16:50:35Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] Civil law governs people wronging one another and the wronged party appealing to the courts for redress. The courts then decide which side is favored by a preponderance of evidence and how much to reward them by levying fines or forcing actions. [/QUOTE] I was trying hard in the OP to specify a civil offense where an officer of the law cites you for violation and you can be prosecuted for it, rather than civil litigation where one private party seeks to recover damages against another. A person who has violated the terms of a contract can be held legally accountable and can lose a lawsuit but is not convicted of any crime as a result. OTOH if I get a speeding ticket, I can be tried and convicted, even if it may not be considered a misdemeanor. Several posts above seem to capture the gist of what I am looking for. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traffic-violations-are-civil-not-criminal-what-else/383121/13 "2006-12-07T17:13:25Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] In most cases this is true, but there are some rather large exceptions: [/quote] Which is why I said “assuming no piracy for sale.” The examples you give fit under that rough discription.