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.
Marshall is an unincorporated village located in the hunt country of northwestern Fauquier County, Virginia. Marshall was originally known as Salem. The town became Marshall after a short-lived incorporation. Marshall is named after John Marshall, the former United States Supreme Court Chief Justice who grew up at Oak Hill in nearby Delaplane. The village is centered along State Route 55 between two exits on Interstate 66. Although Marshall has historically been an agricultural community, its fortuitous designation as one of 5 service districts within Fauquier County, and exclusively within northern Fauquier County, has resulted in a renaissance of business and professional service offerings to the mostly equestrian and agricultural interests in the surrounding region. Marshall is home to the Fauquier Heritage Society, as well as the One Room School House PS17 which was the last one-room schoolhouse in Fauquier County to close in the 1960s. It has been renovated and school groups often visit.