Which statement about civil penalties is NOT correct?

• A. They are monetary penalties imposed by a state or federal agency that are not criminal punishments.
• B. They involve imprisonment as a primary consequence.
• C. They are monetary penalties issued by private civil courts.
• D. They are only civil penalties in administrative actions.

Answer: (B)

Civil penalties are monetary sanctions that come from government authorities to enforce regulations without criminal punishment. The defining feature is that they do not involve imprisonment; jail time is a hallmark of criminal penalties, not civil ones. So a statement that imprisonment is a primary consequence isn't correct. In practice, these penalties are imposed by a state or federal agency in administrative actions, or by courts in civil actions, and they are monetary in nature, not jail time. They aren’t issued by private civil courts, and they aren’t limited only to administrative actions—the civil process can impose them through judicial proceedings as well.