system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: 1. How was O.J. found not guilty the first time? 2. How was he then found guilty in the civil trial? 3. What's the difference between those two trials and how can you be guilty in one and innocent in another?
gpt
he was not guilty in the criminal case.  but was guilty in the civil case.  

the main difference is the proof standard.  in criminal case they use "beyond a reasonable doubt" so ie >90%.  in civil they use "preponderance of the truth" so ie >50%.  also the charges were not exactly the same either.  i don't know exactly, for in the criminal case he was charged with murder.  and in the civil case the suit was for wrongful death.  maybe someone can correct that. 

criminal cases are totally separate from civil cases.  so double jeopardy does not apply.  

and to make things even more fucked up.  state courts and federal courts are "separate sovereigns".  so if you were found innocent of criminal charges in state court, you can be tried again for those same criminal charges in federal court.  

and then, there's a thing called a "grand jury" which is another separate entity.  


tl;dr law is complicated and confusing.