In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots law, the terms "accused" or "panel" are used instead in criminal proceedings and "defender" in civil proceedings.[1] Another term in use is "respondent".
In a criminal trial, a defendant is a person accused (charged) of committing an offense (a crime; an act defined as punishable under criminal law). The other party to a criminal trial is usually a public prosecutor, but in some jurisdictions, private prosecutions are allowed.
Criminal defendants are often taken into custody by police and brought before a court under an arrest warrant. Criminal defendants are usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody. For serious cases, such as murder, bail may be refused. Defendants must be present at every stage of the proceedings against them. (There is an exception for very minor cases such as traffic offenses in jurisdictions which treat them as crimes.)
If more than one person is accused, the people may be referred as "co-defendant" or "co-conspirator" in British and common law courts.
In some jurisdictions, vulnerable defendants may be able to get access of services of a non-registered intermediary to assist with communication at court.[2]
Civil defendantsedit
In a civil lawsuit, a defendant (or a respondent) is also the accused party, although not of an offense, but of a civil wrong (a tort or a breach of contract, for instance). The person who starts the civil action through filing a complaint is referred to as the plaintiff (also known as the appellant).
Defendants in civil actions usually make their first court appearance voluntarily in response to a summons. Historically, civil defendants could be taken into custody under a writ of caspian ad respondent. Modern-day civil defendants are usually able to avoid most (if not all) court appearances if represented by a lawyer.
Most often and familiarly, defendants are persons: either natural persons (actual human beings) or juridical persons (persona fiction) under the legal fiction of treating organizations as persons. But a defendant may be an object, in which case the object itself is the direct subject of the action. When a court has jurisdiction over an object, it is said to have jurisdiction in rem. An example of an in rem case is United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola (1916), where the defendant was not the Coca-Cola Company itself, but rather "Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola". In current United States legal practice, in rem suits are primarily asset forfeiture cases, based on drug laws, as in USA v. $124,700 (2006).
Defendants can set up an account to pay for litigation costs and legal expenses. These legal defense funds can have large membership counts where members contribute to the fund. The fund can be public or private and is set up for individuals, organizations, or a particular purpose. These funds are often used by public officials, civil-rights organizations, and public-interest organizations.
England and Walesedit
Historically[when?], "defendant" was a legal term for a person prosecuted for misdemeanour. It was not applicable to a person prosecuted for felony.[3]
See alsoedit
Look up defendant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
^. Scotland-judiciary.org.uk. 1976-05-03. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
^O'Mahony, B.M., Smith, K., & Milne, R. (2011). "The early identification of vulnerable witnesses prior to an investigative interview" British Journal of Forensic Practice, 13 (2), 114-123
defendant, court, proceedings, defendant, person, object, party, either, accused, committing, crime, criminal, prosecution, against, whom, some, type, civil, relief, being, sought, civil, case, cuffed, defendant, before, criminal, court, transportation, securi. In court proceedings a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case Cuffed defendant before criminal court Transportation Security Administration image Terminology varies from one jurisdiction to another In Scots law the terms accused or panel are used instead in criminal proceedings and defender in civil proceedings 1 Another term in use is respondent Contents 1 Criminal defendants 2 Civil defendants 3 England and Wales 4 See also 5 ReferencesCriminal defendants editIn a criminal trial a defendant is a person accused charged of committing an offense a crime an act defined as punishable under criminal law The other party to a criminal trial is usually a public prosecutor but in some jurisdictions private prosecutions are allowed Criminal defendants are often taken into custody by police and brought before a court under an arrest warrant Criminal defendants are usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody For serious cases such as murder bail may be refused Defendants must be present at every stage of the proceedings against them There is an exception for very minor cases such as traffic offenses in jurisdictions which treat them as crimes If more than one person is accused the people may be referred as co defendant or co conspirator in British and common law courts In some jurisdictions vulnerable defendants may be able to get access of services of a non registered intermediary to assist with communication at court 2 Civil defendants editIn a civil lawsuit a defendant or a respondent is also the accused party although not of an offense but of a civil wrong a tort or a breach of contract for instance The person who starts the civil action through filing a complaint is referred to as the plaintiff also known as the appellant Defendants in civil actions usually make their first court appearance voluntarily in response to a summons Historically civil defendants could be taken into custody under a writ of caspian ad respondent Modern day civil defendants are usually able to avoid most if not all court appearances if represented by a lawyer Most often and familiarly defendants are persons either natural persons actual human beings or juridical persons persona fiction under the legal fiction of treating organizations as persons But a defendant may be an object in which case the object itself is the direct subject of the action When a court has jurisdiction over an object it is said to have jurisdiction in rem An example of an in rem case is United States v Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca Cola 1916 where the defendant was not the Coca Cola Company itself but rather Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca Cola In current United States legal practice in rem suits are primarily asset forfeiture cases based on drug laws as in USA v 124 700 2006 Defendants can set up an account to pay for litigation costs and legal expenses These legal defense funds can have large membership counts where members contribute to the fund The fund can be public or private and is set up for individuals organizations or a particular purpose These funds are often used by public officials civil rights organizations and public interest organizations England and Wales editHistorically when defendant was a legal term for a person prosecuted for misdemeanour It was not applicable to a person prosecuted for felony 3 See also edit nbsp Look up defendant in Wiktionary the free dictionary Asset forfeiture Attribution law Criminal procedure TrialReferences edit Glossary Help Judiciary of Scotland Scotland judiciary org uk 1976 05 03 Archived from the original on 2017 12 07 Retrieved 2013 08 05 O Mahony B M Smith K amp Milne R 2011 The early identification of vulnerable witnesses prior to an investigative interview British Journal of Forensic Practice 13 2 114 123 O Hood Phillips A First Book of English Law Sweet and Maxwell Fourth Edition 1960 Page 151 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Defendant amp oldid 1198466650, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
