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DOJ doesn't always go after trade secret cases, especially if there is adequate civil remedies. But even when they do, they often let the civil plaintiff do the heavy lifting and then come in with a criminal charge using the information obtained by the plaintiff.

Google probably can't wait until a long criminal trial happens.

Civil discovery is easier than criminal investigations.

You can plead the 5th in a civil case in the US, but depending on the jurisdiction the jury and judge may be allowed to hold that against you (which they are not supposed to do in a criminal case). This is even more interesting because Levandowski is pleading the 5th, and Uber is asking for it to not be held against Uber.

Nope, it's just between Waymo and Uber at the moment, and it's just a civil case at the moment.

Levandowski however has criminal lawyers here because the judge's court order for documentation may bring up something that makes Levandowski a criminal, whatever it is.