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Variables petitioner and respondent provide detailed information about all parties, except the identity of the state if a state (or one of its subdivisions) is a party, petitioner and respondent variables note only whether a state is a party, not the state's name.
The defendant in a civil or criminal case is the party who has been accused of some wrongdoing or criminal activity. In a civil case the defendant is the person who has been accused of some non-criminal wrongdoing (often called a tort) for which the other party (the plaintiff) seeks monetary compensation.