When the state prosecutes someone for breaking a criminal law, the wrongdoer could face a fine or be locked up in a county jail or sent to state prison. In a civil case, you may have to pay a fine if you lose, but you do not go to jail. In California, most of the laws that define criminal conduct may be found in the California Penal Code , but criminal acts are defined in many other areas as well. City and county ordinances also are considered part of criminal law and include curfew laws, no smoking laws and laws requiring smoke detectors or fire escapes. If you are charged with an infraction, you are not entitled to a jury trial or to an attorney at the state's expense.
Most traffic violations are infractions.
Finally, some crimes are punishable either as misdemeanors or as felonies. Some parents believe that children who are under a certain age cannot be convicted of a criminal act. This means that in California, if the state is seeking to pros e cute a child under the age of 14, the state must establish clear proof that the child knew that his act was wrong at the time of its commission. Although age and experience do impact a court's determination as to whether a child understands the wrongfulness of his acts, there exists no magic age under which children cannot be found guilty of a crime. All rights reserved.