There are certain situations in which the court simply MUST adopt a particular statutory (or regulatory) standard as THE standard of care in a negligence action. In these situations, the use of the statute (or regulation) is said to be MANDATORY, meaning that the court has no discretion in deciding whether or not to apply the statutory standard as THE standard of care in a negligence case. To determine if a particular statute (or regulation) does in fact mandate the court to adopt it as THE standard of care in a negligence case, the actual language of the statute (or regulation) is usually controlling. Specifically, a statute (or regulation) will never MANDATE the applicable standard of care in a negligence case unless it expressly so states. When it does, such a statute (or regulation) is generally called a "civil" statute (as compared with "penal" or "criminal" statutes).

These latter types of statutes (and regulations) are so-named because they impose some type of criminal penalty or sanction against those who violate them, as opposed to civil liability in Tort. This penalty may be truly criminal in nature (as in the case of incarceration), or it may also be imposed on a purely economic basis (as in the case of fines). Although civil statutes may also have the effect of imposing economic sanctions against those persons who violate them, civil statutes are not enforced through the payment (to the State) of monetary fines or penalties. Instead, they are enforced by the courts in favor of specific injured victims through the imposition of Tort liability against the person(s) who violates the statute.

INSTRUCTIONS: Following is an assortment of actual statutes and/or administrative regulations adapted from a number of different jurisdictions. Read each one very carefully and thoroughly. Decide whether each statute/regulation should be classified as "criminal" or "civil," and then "click" on the appropriate response button which follows each statute/regulation. Click HERE first, if you need to review the distinctions between statutes and regulations before proceeding with this Exercise.

 

 

 

(A). Motor vehicle brakes

(B). Motor vehicle parking lights

(C). Participating in equine activities

(D). Dispensing alcoholic beverages

(E). Emergency medical assistance

(F). Motor vehicle width

(G). Bridge load limit

(H). Telephone booths on highway rights-of-way

(I). Ski area operator responsibilities

(J). Removal of ice and snow from exteriors of stairways and entrances

(K). Transport of guest passengers on aircraft or watercraft

 

 

 

 

Question No. (2). Define a "criminal" (a.k.a. "penal") statute, and explain how it is distinguished from a "civil" statute?

Question No. (3). As a newly-elected member of the Legislature, you are on a special committee which has just concluded hearings on the high incidence of injuries to workers that occur at construction sites when they are struck accidentally by various kinds of heavy construction vehicles that "back up" into them while the workers' attention is otherwise distracted. Your committee has decided that legislation would be helpful in dealing with this problem. Accordingly, YOU been have been asked to DRAFT a statute that will require the owners of "all heavy construction vehicles" operated at "any construction site" in the State to equip their vehicles with automatic warning devices that emit a continuous, high-pitch "beeping" noise whenever they are "operated" in the "reverse" gear.

BEFORE drafting your statute, consider whether you want to make it a "criminal" or a "civil" statute. Once you have completed drafting this statute in the space provided, click on the "Evaluate" button to answer some specific questions about your statute.