Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim. For instance, if a car crash victim claims damages against the driver for loss or injury sustained in an accident, this will be a civil law case. Civil law courts provide a forum for deciding disputes involving torts (such as accidents, negligence, and libel), contract disputes, the probate of wills, trusts, property disputes, administrative law, commercial law, and any other private matters that involve private parties or organizations including government departments. The objectives of civil law are different from other types of law. In civil law there is the attempt to right a wrong, honor an agreement, or settle a dispute. If there is a victim, they get compensation, and the person who is the cause of the wrong pays, this being a civilized form of, or legal alternative to, revenge.
Shawnee Mission, Kansas is a name created by the United States Postal Service to describe an area of Johnson County, Kansas that contains numerous towns. Parts of southern Overland Park are not part of Shawnee Mission as they were annexed from unincorporated Stanley and use zip code 66085. The following towns are included in this area. Countryside Fairway Lake Quivira (the northern part is in Wyandotte County, Kansas) Leawood Lenexa Merriam Mission Mission Hills Mission Woods Overland Park Prairie Village Roeland Park Shawnee Stanley (unincorporated) Westwood Westwood Hills The name Shawnee Mission derives from the Shawnee Methodist Mission, a mission to the Shawnee tribe, founded in 1830 in present-day Wyandotte County, Kansas by the Methodist church. The mission was moved to what is now Johnson County in 1839. The county was named for Rev. Thomas Johnson, the first missionary sent by the church. The Shawnee Mission School District encompasses most of the area. If the independent cities that constitute Shawnee Mission were to incorporate into a single municipality, its 2005 population estimate would be 355,260 (up from 325,147 in 2000), and would surpass Wichita as Kansas' largest city. Shawnee Mission is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.