Editing Defendant

{{Short description|Accused person}}
[[File:Angeklagter-vor-Gericht.jpg|thumb|[[Handcuffs|Cuffed]] defendant before criminal court ([[Transportation Security Administration]] image)]]

In court proceedings, a '''defendant''' is a [[Legal personality|person]] or object who is the [[Party (law)|party]] either accused of committing a [[crime]] in [[Criminal procedure|criminal prosecution]] or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a [[Civil procedure|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scotland-judiciary.org.uk/29/0/Glossary/a#P |title=Glossary - Help - Judiciary of Scotland |publisher=Scotland-judiciary.org.uk |date=1976-05-03 |access-date=2013-08-05 |archive-date=2017-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207010837/http://www.scotland-judiciary.org.uk/29/0/Glossary/a#P |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another term in use is "'''respondent'''".

==Criminal defendants==
In a criminal trial, a defendant is a person accused ([[Criminal charge|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.<ref>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</ref>

==Civil defendants==
In a civil [[lawsuit]], a defendant (or a respondent) is also the accused [[Party (law)|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 law (area)|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 ''[[capias ad respondendum]]''. 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 person]]s (actual human beings) or [[Legal personality#Juridical persons|juridical person]]s (''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|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 expense]]s. These [[legal defense fund]]s 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==
Historically{{When|date=May 2020|reason=This must be very old usage. E.g. H. Finch Law (1627) iv. xxxiii. 387 The Defendant confessing an enditement of felonie may accuse others.}}, "defendant" was a legal term for a person prosecuted for [[misdemeanour]]. It was not applicable to a person prosecuted for [[felony]].<ref>[[Owen Hood Phillips|O. Hood Phillips]]. ''[[A First Book of English Law]]''. [[Sweet and Maxwell]]. Fourth Edition. 1960. Page 151.</ref>

==See also==
{{Wiktionary|defendant}}
* [[Asset forfeiture]]
* [[Attribution (law)]]
* [[Criminal procedure]]
* [[Trial]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Criminal law legal terminology]]