For example, a criminal defendant may be convicted in state court, and lose on " direct appeal " to higher state appellate courts, and if unsuccessful, mount a " collateral " action such as filing for a writ of habeas corpus in the federal courts.

It may have been preceded by an optional " pre-answer " motion to dismiss or demurrer ; if such a motion is unsuccessful, the defendant must file an answer to the complaint or risk an adverse default judgment.

Some jurisdictions allow force to be used in defense of property, to prevent damage either in its own right, or under one or both of the preceding classes of defense in that a threat or attempt to damage property might be considered a crime ( in English law, under s5 Criminal Damage Act 1971 it may be argued that the defendant has a lawful excuse to damaging property during the defense and a defense under s3 Criminal Law Act 1967 ) subject to the need to deter vigilantes and excessive self-help.

The Dictionary of Politics: Selected American and Foreign Political and Legal Terms defines the term Alford plea as: " A plea under which a defendant may choose to plead guilty, not because of an admission to the crime, but because the prosecutor has sufficient evidence to place a charge and to obtain conviction in court.

In federal courts, such plea may be accepted as long as there is evidence that the defendant is actually guilty.

Upon receiving an Alford guilty plea from a defendant, the court may immediately pronounce the defendant guilty and impose sentence as if the defendant had otherwise been convicted of the crime.

Sources disagree, as may differing states ' laws, as to what category of plea the Alford plea falls under: Some sources state that the Alford guilty plea is a form of nolo contendere, where the defendant in the case states " no contest " to the factual matter of the case as given in the charges outlined by the prosecution.

The sentencing court may, of necessity, consider a broad range of information, including the evidence of the crime, the defendant's criminal history and the demeanor of the defendant, including the presence or absence of remorse.

* Revised Code of Washington 9. 12. 010: " Every person who brings on his or her own behalf, or instigates, incites, or encourages another to bring, any false suit at law or in equity in any court of this state, with intent thereby to distress or harass a defendant in the suit, or who serves or sends any paper or document purporting to be or resembling a judicial process, that is not in fact a judicial process, is guilty of a misdemeanor ; and in case the person offending is an attorney, he or she may, in addition thereto be disbarred from practicing law within this state.

It is also possible to bring class actions under state law, and in some cases the court may extend its jurisdiction to all the members of the class, including out of state ( or even internationally ) as the key element is the jurisdiction that the court has over the defendant.

Third, class action cases may be brought to purposely change behavior of a class of which the defendant is a member.

Fourth, in " limited fund " cases, a class action ensures that all plaintiffs receive relief and that early-filing plaintiffs do not raid the fund ( i. e., the defendant ) of all its assets before other plaintiffs may be compensated.

The acting association or foundation may come to a collective settlement with the defendant.

In common law countries, a defendant may enter a peremptory plea of autrefois acquit or autrefois convict ( autrefois means " previously " in French ), meaning the defendant has been acquitted or convicted of the same offence.

In Blockburger v. United States ( 1932 ), the Supreme Court announced the following test: the government may separately try and punish the defendant for two crimes if each crime contains an element that the other does not.

If a defendant could not reasonably have foreseen that someone might be hurt by their actions, there may be no liability.

It may be useful for the lawyers for the plaintiff and / or the defendant to employ forensic accountants or forensic economists to give evidence on the value of the loss.

But a defendant may be an object, in which case the object itself is the direct subject of the action.

After voting on all of the articles has taken place, and if the Lords find the defendant guilty, the Commons may move for judgment ; the Lords may not declare the punishment until the Commons have so moved.

A royal pardon cannot excuse the defendant from trial, but a pardon may reprieve a convicted defendant.

The defendant, William L. Stickney 3, 23, of 3211 Park pl., Evanston, who pleaded guilty to reckless driving, also was ordered by Judge James Corcoran to attend the Evanston traffic school each Tuesday night for one month.

* A defendant could also argue that he was engaged in mutually consensual behavior.

Although normally plaintiffs are the class, defendant class actions are also possible.

Generally, punitive damages, which are also termed exemplary damages in the United Kingdom, are not awarded in order to compensate the plaintiff, but in order to reform or deter the defendant and similar persons from pursuing a course of action such as that which damaged the plaintiff.

While at the station the officer also asks the defendant to perform certain psycho-physical tests such as the walk and turn, one leg stand or finger to nose test.

The defendant may also be able to challenge the admissibility of the statement under provisions of state constitutions and state criminal procedure statutes.

Clearly express questioning ( interrogation ) would qualify but the concept also extends to surreptitious attempts to acquire information from the defendant through the use of undercover agents or paid informants.

At the very end of the show, in " Court Charades ", the Inquisitors are caught by surprise when a defendant ( who is also a judge from another court ) in session at the Old Bailey says: " Blimey, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!

A plea bargain ( also plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea ) is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.

Like other common law jurisdictions, the Crown can also agree to withdraw some charges against the defendant in exchange for a guilty plea.

If the court satisfies itself that the defendant fully acknowledges the consequences of the plea agreement, and he / she was represented by the defense council, his / her will is expressed in full compliance with the legislative requirements without deception and coercion, also if there is enough body of doubtless evidence for the conviction and the agreement is reached on legitimate sentence-the court approves the plea agreement and renders guilty judgment.

This crime requires an extra level of satisfactory proof, as prosecutors must show not only that perjury occurred, but also that the defendant positively induced said perjury.

" " Intelligent " has been described as " also an elusive term, meaning that the defendant knows his rights, the nature of the charge to which he is pleading, and the consequences of his plea.

There are also simplified procedures, often called proceedings, in which the parties are termed petitioner instead of plaintiff, and respondent instead of defendant.

Further, charges can also be brought against individuals or corporations who have sued or filed criminal charges against a defendant.

The plaintiff could also institute an actio furti ( a personal action ) to punish the defendant.

It may also be inequitable to allow a defendant to use the defense of the running of the limitations period, such as the case of an individual in the position of authority over someone else who intimidates the victim into never reporting the wrongdoing, or where one is led to believe that the other party has agreed to suspend the limitations period during good faith settlement negotiations or due to a fraudulent misrepresentation.

Thus, in evaluating a collision between two vehicles, the court must not only make a finding that both drivers were negligent, but it must also apportion the contribution made by each driver as a percentage, e. g. that the blame between the drivers is 20 % attributable to the plaintiff / claimant: 80 % to the defendant.

Comparative negligence has also been criticized, since it would allow a plaintiff who is recklessly 95 % negligent to recover 5 % of the damages from the defendant, and often more when a jury is feeling sympathetic.

Uncontested divorces are also granted after the defendant appears and waives the right to answer the complaint.

Legal dramas also focus on situations where there is an obvious injustice or ones in which either the plaintiff or defendant is very interesting and unusual.

Congress has established a procedure whereby a party, typically the defendant, can " remove " a case from state court to federal court, provided that the federal court also has original jurisdiction over the matter.