UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JERRY NEHL BOYLAN, Defendant.

[Scuba Lawyer]

I am not a lawyer, but I’d think that if I were suing someone in a civil case that also had a criminal component, I might wait until the criminal case was over so I had access to what was discovered in the criminal case.

But that’s completely from a layman’s perspective. There may be very good reasons not to wait?

If I am representing a civil plaintiff against a defendant who has an ongoing criminal case arising out of the same incident I prefer to let the criminal procedure run its course before initiating the civil action. A felony conviction can (but not always) make my job a lot easier in establishing liability in a civil trial. Sometimes I am forced to file my civil action before the criminal case is completed if I am up against a civil statute of limitations. In that case the civil judge will often stay the civil proceeding pending the outcome of the criminal case (but again, not always). Obviously, the defendant can only be in one actual trial at a time, but the civil and criminal cases can proceed forward at the same time. The volume of evidence gathered by the police, FBI, NTSB, etc... can be staggering. I don't mind at all letting them do the heavy lifting. My 2psi. Mark

 

[fisheater]

Plus, the criminal defendant's lawyer will, without a doubt, move to stay the civil action to avoid having his client be forced to give a deposition. If he didn't, doing the deposition would waive the defendant's right against self-incrimination. So, typically, the civil case is stayed until the criminal case is concluded and the deposition can go forward.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Plus, the criminal defendant's lawyer will, without a doubt, move to stay the civil action to avoid having his client be forced to give a deposition. If he didn't, doing the deposition would waive the defendant's right against self-incrimination. So, typically, the civil case is stayed until the criminal case is concluded and the deposition can go forward.

Agree. One time I filed a civil suit in a wrongful death drunk driver auto case. I checked with the issuing officer and the DA's office for the county where the incident occurred and was told no charges had been filed. I served the defendant drunk driver and he later showed up with his insurance defense appointed lawyer for deposition. At the end of 3 hours, after I had nailed liability and intoxication and the causal connection to the death of my client's husband, the defendant asks if he should have told his criminal lawyer about the civil case. Moron. The DA filed manslaughter charges against him the next week.

 

[fisheater]

Agree. One time I filed a civil suit in a wrongful death drunk driver auto case. I checked with the issuing officer and the DA's office for the county where the incident occurred and was told no charges had been filed. I served the defendant drunk driver and he later showed up with his insurance defense appointed lawyer for deposition. At the end of 3 hours, after I had nailed liability and intoxication and the causal connection to the death of my client's husband, the defendant asks if he should have told his criminal lawyer about the civil case. Moron. The DA filed manslaughter charges against him the next week.

Wow! Just wow!

(I wonder if he thought to make a claim for the malpractice of the insurance defense lawyer.)

 

[boulderjohn]

I recently saw a case on Dateline in which the lead detective in a potential murder case was struggling to get enough evidence to bring charges, and he suggested the aggrieved family bring a wrongful death civil case in the hope that it would bring out more evidence. It did, and they brought a murder charge. They defendant was acquitted, though, and after that acquittal, the civil case was dropped.

 

[Cert1967]

27. Coordination of Parallel Criminal, Civil, Regulatory, and Administrative Proceedings

Department policy is that criminal prosecutors and civil trial counsel should timely communicate, coordinate, and cooperate with one another and agency attorneys to the fullest extent appropriate to the case and permissible by law, whenever an alleged offense or violation of federal law gives rise to the potential for criminal, civil, regulatory, and/or agency administrative parallel (simultaneous or successive) proceedings. By working together in this way, the Department can better protect the government's interests (including deterrence of future misconduct and restoration of program integrity) and secure the full range of the government's remedies (including incarceration, fines, penalties, damages, restitution to victims, asset seizure, civil and criminal forfeiture, and exclusion and debarment.
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See Doc 6, upstream - the process has started

Remember the two cases are both federal.