Defendant

A defendant is a person or object that is the party accused of committing a crime in a criminal prosecution or against whom civil relief is sought in a civil case. The terminology for this role varies by jurisdiction; for example, in Scots law, the terms "accused" or "panel" are used in criminal proceedings and "defender" in civil proceedings, while "respondent" is another term in use.

In criminal trials, a defendant is a person charged with an offense defined as punishable under criminal law. The opposing party is typically a public prosecutor, though private prosecutions are allowed in some jurisdictions. Criminal defendants are often taken into custody by police and brought before a court under an arrest warrant. They are usually required to post bail to secure release from custody, though for serious offenses like murder, bail may be refused.

Defendants must be present at every stage of the proceedings, except in very minor cases such as traffic offenses in jurisdictions that treat them as crimes. When multiple people are accused, they may be referred to as co-defendants or co-conspirators in English and common law courts. In some jurisdictions, vulnerable defendants may access the services of a non-registered intermediary to assist with communication at court.

Civil defendants

In civil lawsuits, a defendant (or respondent) is the party accused of a civil wrong, such as a tort or breach of contract. The party initiating the action by filing a complaint is the plaintiff (or appellant). Civil defendants typically make their first court appearance voluntarily in response to a summons. Historically, they could be taken into custody under a writ of capias ad respondendum, but modern civil defendants can usually avoid most court appearances if represented by a lawyer.

Defendants are most often persons, either natural human beings or juridical persons (legal fictions treating organizations as persons). However, a defendant may also be an object, where 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 is United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, where the defendant was the named shipment, not the company. In current U.S. practice, in rem suits are primarily asset forfeiture cases based on drug laws.