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Civil procedure
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Civil procedure is the body of law that regulates the process that courts must follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a "civil action," as opposed to a criminal action). Civil procedure refers only to form and procedure, and not to the substantive law that gives people the right to sue or defend a lawsuit. It can be enacted by either the legislature or the courts. A procedural system provides the mechanism for applying substantive law to real disputes. Such a system sets guidelines as to what information the judge or jury receives, how that information is to be presented, and by what standards of proof (e.g., "beyond a reasonable doubt," "by clear and convincing evidence," "by a preponderance of the evidence") the information will be adjudged. An effective procedural system ensures that similar cases will be treated similarly by the courts.[1][2]
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