Beyond criminal prosecution, a victim can obtain legal counsel and sue the perpetrator for personal injury in Civil Court. If the verdict is in the favor of the victim the defendant is ordered to pay money for the damages caused as a result of their crime. The realm of damages can include, pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of income, and punitive damages. Punitive damages are not design to further compensate the victim but to further punish the offender.

At the heart of a civil suit in relation to a rape or other cases of violent crime is the questions of

In certain circumstances the question of civil commitment will come into question in light of a crime. The offender's mental state may be called into question. When an offender is found to be a danger to themselves or others the offender is placed with in an institutional setting. The concept of removing those that are deemed a threat to society serves to benefit the whole society by eliminating that offender's opportunity to reoffend. Due to controversy over the concept of individual autonomy many states have found themselves in dispute with one another over the idea of civil commitment. Today the standard that has been agreed on is not solely based on the mental state of the offender but is coupled with the prediction of dangerousness. An individual can only be committed when legitimate public interest is at stake.

Upon establishing grounds for a victim's lawsuit, the victim and their attorney must decide on how to present their case. There are several avenues in which a victim and attorney may wish to explore in forming the victims civil suit. The plaintiff may chose to form their suit on several grounds, one being any physical damage that was incurred as a result of the crime, and those on psychological grounds such as the perpetrator's intentional, and reckless infliction of emotional distress that occurred in the course of the crime.

The victim will find that if the offender is found guilty in a criminal court before the civil suit their chances of obtaining a favorable finding greatly increases. Within the area of rape and civil liability there has been a long standing myth that perpetrators are with out assets. This has been proven to be nothing more than a myth, although some perpetrators may be indigent they may be insured, have wealthy families, or the victim may be awarded future income. There are a variety of ways for an attorney to uncover the truth about a perpetrators financial standing, and with appropriate action have the perpetrators assets frozen so that they can not be transferred or diverted elsewhere. This is often where the victim will find trouble in obtaining legal counsel, the attorney must be convinced that the alleged perpetrator has some means of making a payment. Often unless the attorney is paid for directly by the victim the awarded money is used to pay the legal fees incur!

liability and collectability. The two factors that are most important in a case are the victim's attorney's ability to construct an insightful presentation of the facts that may very well encourage a judge or jury to find in favor of t

Some common words found in the essay are:
Civil Court, , third party, civil suit, party suit, criminal court, third party suit, civil arena, punitive damages, victim crime, monetary compensation, civil court, civil commitment, ability victim sue, burden proof lessened, party suit focused,
Approximate Word count = 1740
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)