Civil & Criminal Justice
The participants in the civil litigation
process concern themselves with torts (civil wrongs) committed by tortfeasors
against plaintiffs. If the tortfeasor gets sued, they become the defendant and
hire an attorney. Both sides investigate the merits of the complaint, line up
witnesses, and prepare to argue their side before a judge and jury.
Juries in civil cases can award
compensatory damages to pay the plaintiff for actual loss suffered, but
sometimes they can also award punitive damages above actual loss to punish the
defendant and discourage others.
Your
assignment this week is to answer the following questions:
Find two cases where punitive damages were
awarded:
One in which you feel the damages were
justified, and
One in which they were not.
Explain your answers.
This
individual work should include the following:
An
in-depth submission free of spelling and grammar errors.
An
essay containing a minimum of one page, typed and double-spaced.
You
will be assessed on the rationale you use in addressing the question/issue
posted, and how well you justify your argument regarding this issue.
Your
response must be thought provoking, have well developed ideas and/or opinions,
and should reference any supporting material from the text, lecture, or other
sources you have used to complete the assignment.
You
may use your text or the Internet as a reference, but remember to cite your
sources.
