A defendant or defender (Δ in legal shorthand) is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. Delta (uppercase Δ, lowercase δ; Δέλτα Thelta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. It is common practice in legal documents to cite to other publications by using standard abbreviations for the title of each source In general use a complaint is an expression of displeasure such as poor service at a store or from a Local government, etc A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a Lawsuit A pursuer in Scotland is the party who initiates a Lawsuit before a Court of Scotland. In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its In the Common law legal system an indictment (ɪnˈdaɪtmənt (in-DITE-mint is a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offense In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County.
A defendant in a civil action usually makes his or her first court appearance voluntarily in response to a summons, whereas a defendant in a criminal case is often taken into custody by police and brought before a court, pursuant to an arrest warrant. The actions of a defendant, and its lawyer counsel, is known as the defense.
A respondent is the parallel term used in a proceeding which is commenced by petition. A petition is a request to change some thing most commonly made to a government official or public entity
Historically,a defendant in a civil action could also be taken into custody pursuant to a writ of capias ad respondendum and forced to post bail before being released from custody. In the Common law legal systems capias ad respondendum ( Latin: "that you take to hear the judgment" is or was a Writ issued Traditionally bail is some form of Property deposited or pledged to a Court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding However, a modern day defendant in a civil action is usually able to avoid most (if not all) court appearances if he or she is represented by a lawyer whereas a defendant in a criminal case (particularly a felony or indictment) is usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody and must be present at every stage thereafter of the proceedings against him or her (they often may have their lawyer appear instead, especially for very minor cases, such as traffic offenses in jurisdictions which treat them as crimes). A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person In Common law legal systems a felony is a serious Crime, often contrasted with a Misdemeanor. In the Common law legal system an indictment (ɪnˈdaɪtmənt (in-DITE-mint is a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offense If found guilty, or if the defendant reaches a plea bargain or other settlement with the prosecution, the defendant receives a sentence from the presiding judge. A plea bargain (also plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea) is an agreement in a Criminal case whereby the Prosecutor offers In Law, a sentence forms the final act of a Judge -ruled process and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law This sentence, however, does not necessarily include the full punishment: social stigma of prosecution and collateral consequences of criminal charges may still affect the defendant. Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or aversive on a person or animal usually in response to disobedient or morally wrong behavior Social stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or Beliefs that are against cultural norms. The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law Collateral consequences of criminal charges, known as the " Four C's " in legal parlance, are the results of Arrest, Prosecution or conviction
Historical restrictions on giving evidence
In Britain up until the end of the 19th century, defendants were banned by law from giving evidence in their defence, since it was assumed they would be inclined to lie. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located [1]
References
- ^ Devlin, Patrick. Easing the passing: The trial of Doctor John Bodkin Adams, London, The Bodley Head, 1985.
See also
A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a LawsuitDictionary
defendant
-noun
- (law) In civil proceedings, the party responding to the complaint; one who is sued and called upon to make satisfaction for a wrong complained of by another.
- (law) In criminal proceedings, the accused.
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