Quasi-criminal (proceeding)
Definition
A civil proceeding that may result in a penalty akin to a criminal penalty, e.g. imprisonment. Little v. Streater, 452 U.S. 1, 10 (1981). The U.S. Supreme Court has described punitive damages as a "quasi-criminal punishment." Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Haslip, 499 U.S. 1, 19 (1991). A defendant in a quasi-criminal proceeding is entitled to due process protections.
Illustrative caselaw
See, e.g. Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Haslip, 499 U.S. 1 (1991) and Little v. Streater, 452 U.S. 1 (1981).
See also
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
A reference to a court's right to punish for actions or omissions as if they were criminal. The most common example is finding a parent who is delinquent in child support in contempt of court and penalizing him or her with a jail sentence. When a hearing is quasi-criminal, the quasi-defendant is entitled to all due process protections afforded a criminal defendant.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:22 pm
