Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

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Random article

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

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Related changes

Upload file

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Page information

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Create a book

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In other projects

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Languages

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‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

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Svenska

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Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

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Random article

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About Wikipedia

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Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

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In other projects

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Languages

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‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

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Svenska

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Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

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Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

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Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

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Related changes

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Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

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Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

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Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

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viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

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Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

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Random article

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Interaction

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About Wikipedia

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Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

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Create a book

Download as PDF

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In other projects

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Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file
Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile
viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case
A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)
See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more
Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case
Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski
Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

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Random article

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Interaction

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About Wikipedia

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Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

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Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

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Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

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Recent changes

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Related changes

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Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file
Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile
viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case
A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)
See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more
Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case
Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski
Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

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Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

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Recent changes

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Related changes

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Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

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Random article

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Interaction

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About Wikipedia

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Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

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Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file
Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile
viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case
A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)
See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more
Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case
Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski
Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

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Random article

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Interaction

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About Wikipedia

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Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

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Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

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Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

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Recent changes

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Related changes

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Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file
Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile
viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case
A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)
See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more
Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case
Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski
Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

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Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

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Recent changes

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Related changes

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Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

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Random article

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Interaction

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About Wikipedia

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Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

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Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file
Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile
viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case
A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)
See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes
Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more
Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case
Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help
About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski
Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

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Random article

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Interaction

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About Wikipedia

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Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

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Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

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Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

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Recent changes

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Related changes

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Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

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Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.
The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.
Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References
The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages
Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki
Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.
A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law
Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References
6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia
Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English
Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case
3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.
Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ
Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents
1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).
Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.
However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events
Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote
Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations
to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Legal case" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2007) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.

At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.
Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo
Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store

Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book
Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikiquote

Languages

Eesti

‫עברית‬

ಕಕಕಕಕ

Lietuvių

Polski

Simple English

Svenska

3 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 February 2019, at 02:15 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statementMobile

viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki

Legal case

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For the racehorse, see Legal Case.

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A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal
process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal law. In each legal case there is an accuser and one or
more defendants.

Contents

1 Civil case

1.1 Family case

2 Criminal case

3 Common elements

3.1 Designation and citation

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Civil case

A civil case, more commonly known as a lawsuit or controversy, begins when a plaintiff files a document
called a complaint with a court, informing the court of the wrong that the plaintiff has allegedly suffered
because of the defendant, and requesting a remedy. The remedy sought may be money, an injunction,
which requires the defendant to perform or refrain from performing some action, or a declaratory
judgment, which determines that the plaintiff has certain legal rights. The remedy will be prescribed by
the court if the plaintiff wins the case. A civil case can also be arbitrated through arbitration, which may
result in a faster settlement, with lower costs, than could be obtained by going through a trial.

The plaintiff must make a genuine effort to inform the defendant of the case through service of process,
by which the plaintiff delivers to the defendant the same documents that the plaintiff filed with the
court.
At any point during the case, the parties can agree to a settlement, which will end the case, although in
some circumstances, such as in class actions, a settlement requires court approval in order to be
binding.

Family case

Cases involving separation including asset division, support (a.k.a. maintenance or alimony), and matters
related to children are handled differently in different jurisdictions. Often, the court's procedure for
dealing with family cases is very similar to that of a civil case (it requires service and disclosure, and will
issue judgments).

Divorce and separation from a spouse is one of the most stressful situations, as rated by the Holmes and
Rahe Stress Scale, and so family proceedings are increasingly being "divorced" from the often very
formal and impersonal process of civil proceedings, and given special treatment.

Criminal case

Main article: Criminal case

Canadian criminal cases

A criminal case, in common law jurisdictions, begins when a person suspected of a crime is indicted by a
grand jury or otherwise charged with the offense by a government official called a prosecutor or district
attorney.

A criminal case may in some jurisdictions be settled before a trial through a plea bargain. Typically, in a
plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a lesser charge than that which was originally
brought by the grand jury or prosecutor. A defendant who goes to trial risks greater penalties than
would normally be imposed through a plea bargain.

Common elements

Legal cases, whether criminal or civil, are premised on the idea that a dispute will be fairly resolved
when a legal procedure exists by which the dispute can be brought to a factfinder not otherwise
involved in the case, who can evaluate evidence to determine the truth with respect to claims of guilt,
innocence, liability, or lack of fault. Details of the procedure may depend on both the kind of case and
the kind of system in which the case is brought - whether, for example, it is an inquisitorial system or a
solo

Designation and citation

Main article: Case citation

In most systems, the governing body responsible for overseeing the courts assigns a unique
number/letter combination or similar designation to each case in order to track the various disputes
that are or have been before it. The outcome of the case is recorded, and can later be reviewed by
obtaining a copy of the documents associated with the designation previously assigned to the case.

However, it is often more convenient to refer to cases – particularly landmark and other notable cases –
by a title of the form Claimant v Defendant (e.g. Arkell v Pressdram). Where a legal proceeding does not
have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as In re, Re or In the matter of is used (e.g. In re
Gault).[1] The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in
Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles
Dickens' Jarndyce and Jarndyce). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural
person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by a standard pseudonym (Jane Roe in Roe v.
Wade) or by an initial (D v D). In titles such as R v Adams, however, the initial "R" is usually an
abbreviation for the Latin Rex or Regina, i.e. for the Crown. (For an explanation of other terms that may
appear in case titles, see the Glossary of legal terms.)

See also

Case law

Early case assessment

Lists of case law

References

The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4 ed.). Hart Publishers. 2012. ISBN
9781849463676.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Legal case

Categories: Law

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