From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In
legal
terminology
, a
complaint
is any formal legal
document
that
establishes
the facts and legal reasons for a
lawsuit
. A complaint must list the reasons for the
plaintiff
's
case
, and it must ask for a specific
legal remedy
.
[1]
Once a complaint is filed with the
court
a
summons
(an order from the court) is notifies the
defendant
a lawsuit has been filed against them.
[2]
Once a
defendant
receives notice of a complaint, they must reply within a specified period of time with an
answer
.
[1]
Complaints are
pleadings
that must be written carefully to properly state the facts and legal basis for the claim.
[3]
Usually this requires the help of an
attorney
.
[3]
In some
jurisdictions
, specific types of
criminal cases
may also be started by the filing of a complaint. This is also called a
criminal complaint
or
felony complaint
. All criminal cases are
prosecuted
in the name of the
governmental authority
. This is the same authority whose
criminal laws
were broken and who enforces
criminal statutes
. The government is sometimes called
the state
,
the People
or
the Crown
(in
Commonwealth realms
). In the United States, the complaint is often associated with
misdemeanor
charges presented by the
prosecutor
without the
grand jury
process. In most
US
jurisdictions, the document presented to and authorized by a grand jury is called an
indictment
.
[4]