Every state has laws that permit wrongful death lawsuits to be filed in court against a person or company that has wrongfully caused the death of another person. Unlike criminal charges, which can be filed by the government when a person causes the death of another person in a manner that is classified by a crime, a wrongful death lawsuit is a civil action that seeks financial compensation for the family members of the deceased person. Furthermore, while criminal liability must be proven by a reasonable doubt, civil liability, or financial responsibility for a person's death, carries a lesser burden of proof. While a criminal conviction for causing the death of another person typically results in imprisonment in jail or prison and/or time spent on probation, a civil judgment against a person for causing another person's death is purely financial, and involves no criminal penalty. A prime example of this distinction lies in the famous O.J. Simpson criminal trial and wrongful death lawsuit. While O.J. was acquitted of murder charges for the death of his wife, Nicole, he was found liable or responsible for her death in the subsequent civil wrongful death suit.