The generic name for the defendant in a criminal case. A person becomes accused within the meaning of a guarantee of SPEEDY TRIAL only at the point at which either formal indictment or information has been returned against him or her, or when he or she becomes subject to actual restraints on liberty imposed by arrest, whichever occurs first.
Source: West's Encyclopedia of American Law, ©2005 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
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