How is different between "defendant" and "accused"?
I see both of them are used to describe a person in law but which in case we'll use "defenndant" and "accused"?
In a criminal case, the two sides appearing before the judge are "the prosecution", which is a government department, and "the accused".
In a civil case, the two sides are "the plaintiff" and "the defendant".
September 3, 2014
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First a person is accused of doing something against the law, so they are "charged" with breaking/not complying with a specific law. Then, when they go to court, they are the defendant (they must try to defend themselves against the charges). So the term defendant only applies/is only used when the person who was charged goes to court.