Quasi-criminal means a
lawsuit or
equityproceeding that has some, but not all, of the qualities of a criminal
prosecution. It may appear in either a
common law or a
civil lawjurisdiction. It refers to "a court's right to punish for actions or omissions as if they were criminal".[1]
The
origins of the phrase comes from the
Latin language word, quasi, meaning somewhat, sort-of, alike or akin, to
criminal law, as in
quasi-contract.[2]Quasi is used "to indicate that one subject resembles another, with which it is compared, in certain characteristics, but there are intrinsic and material differences between them".[3]
During a civil or equity trial, a court may act as if it were a criminal case to punish a person for
contempt of court.[1] In some cases, a court may impose
asset forfeiture or another
penalty.[4] For example, a court has the right to punish actions or omissions of a
party in a
child support case as if they were a criminal, penalizing the parent with a
sentence of
jail time.
Elements
Quasi-criminal proceedings include a wide variety of matters, including prosecution for a violation of law or
ordinance,
psychiatric matters,
motor vehicle law,
status offenses,
family court actions, and
equity proceedings such as a
writ. What these various legal matters have in common are these factors:
They may be instituted by a
government agent on behalf of a private citizen, or
They may be instituted by a private citizen on behalf of the government, ex rel.
^
abcdeHill, Gerald N.; Hill, Kathleen (2002). The people's law dictionary : taking the mystery out of legal language. New York, NY: MJF Books.
ISBN9781567315530.
Dennis P. Stolle & Mark D. Stuann, Defending Depositions in High-stakes Civil and Quasi-criminal Litigation, West. Crim. Rev. 4(2), at pp. 134–142 (2003), found at:
[2]