Defendant

Welcome to the Defendant section of the CJSNI Website

A ‘defendant’ is someone who has been accused of committing a crime. Whether this is you or someone you know, this section is designed to answer some of the questions you may have.

In Northern Ireland, as in the rest of the UK, anyone accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent until proven otherwise by the courts. If the courts find someone guilty, or convicts, them of a crime, they are then referred to as an ‘offender’.

The buttons on the left are intended to guide you through the processes of what happens to a defendant, from being arrested to going to court.