While criminal and civil court are very different areas of law, sometimes they do crossover with one another. Sometimes when a battery or DUI with property damage occurs, there will be an accompanying civil suit for damages. Also, when there is a charge of child neglect or abuse there is very often a dependency or family law case.
While the resolution of a pending criminal case can effect the outcome of a civil suit for damages, it will not necessarily effect the outcome of a dependency or family law case.
The big difference is whether someone pleas no contest or guilty. Pleaing no contest is stating that you are not admitting you did whatever the state is accusing you of, but you are not going to fight it either. Pleaing guilty can mean you are admitting that you did some illegal act. If someone pleas guilty, it can make a corresponding civil case easier to prove because the person has admitted that he/she did something. After that is proved, then all the civil attorney needs to do is prove the damages. By pleaing no contest, the civil attorney will likely need additional evidence that the person did a certain act.
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