Actual Guilt vs. Legal Guilt

“We make a distinction in this case between the “actual” guilt or innocence of a defendant and the “legal” guilt or innocence of a defendant. “Legal” guilt or innocence is that determination made by the trier of fact in a criminal trial.  Thus a defendant found “legally” guilty has been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of his peers in a criminal adjudication. “Actual” guilt is intended to refer to a determination in a civil trial, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant engaged in the conduct he was accused of in the prior criminal proceeding.”  Shaw v. State, 861 P.2d 566, 570 (Alaska 1993)