Definition of "defendant" []

• Law The party against which an action is brought. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Does it change the analysis if a defendant is already properly legally charged and therefore already facing all the consequences of prosecution, as happens in all deferreds?"
• "When the defendant and the victim arrived in Orange County, the defendant is accused of buying a boat and convincing the victim to sail to San Clemente Island to meet with ‘federal agents.’"
• "So far the FDIC, which, according to Bloomberg, doesn't sue unless it believes the defendant is able to pay up, has only filed one lawsuit related to the credit crisis, against IndyMac executives in July."