defendant

Defendant, in criminal cases , is the person accused of the crime . In civil cases , the defendant is the person or entity that is being sued by the plaintiff . In certain types of actions , the defendant is called the respondent . However, the term respondent is usually used to designate the person responding to an appeal .

[Last reviewed in August of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

Wex

• THE LEGAL PROCESS
• criminal procedure
• wex definitions
• civil procedure