This lesson explores a civil case.
Criminal cases involve a lawyer who represents an invisible party-the state.
A civil case involves two real individuals. The plaintiff wants compensation for the wrong. In our example, both plaintiff and defendant have hired lawyers to present their side of the story. While it is not necessary to have a lawyer, people may find that they are too emotionally involved with a case to present the facts objectively, or they may feel more confident represented by someone with courtroom experience. This means that both of them will act as witnesses during the trial, presenting their side of the story in the witness box situated beside the judge.