plaintiff vs accused

[keannu]

In civil suit(action) vs criminal suit(action), can we use the same terms as "plaintiff" and "accused" for both cases?
Or does each case have different terms?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Different words for different trials. In a crminal case, the prosecution represents the people of the State, or Crown and there is an accused. In a civil case, there is a plaintiff, the complaining party, and the other party is a respondent. That is true in many, but not all jurisdictions, and may be different in the UK.

 

[Barb_D]

You will hear "defendant" used for both the accused and the respondent. You can't use "plaintiff" for a criminal suit. You can't used "accused" for a civil suit.