Difference between "to indict" and "to sue" and other legal terms.

[Aamir Tariq]

Difference between "to indict" and "to sue" and other legal terms.

Suppose a situation in which John stole money from Steve. Now Steve comes to know that his money has been stolen by John. He goes to see his lawyer/attorney Paul to sue him.

In view of the situation, are the following statements correct? This is the first part of my question.

Now Steve is a Plaintiff since he brought a lawsuit against John.
Steve sued John for stealing his money.
Paul is the Litigator since he is acting on behalf of Steve in the court of law.
And John is the defendant as well as the suspect.
And both John and Steve are Litigants.

The second part is related to indictment. Now let me know at what stage the indictment takes place? And if there is a difference between "to sue someone", and "to indict someone"?

According to my understanding, if somebody asks his or her lawyer to file a case against someone, he sues him. To make it short a plaintiff or the aggrieved party sues the accused party. not the litigator acting on behalf of the plaintiff. Is that right?

Indictment comes at next stage when the suspect or defendant is formally charged with an offense either by the judge or the jury.

So it is the aggrieved party who sues like Steve sued John.
And it is the judge who indicts the suspect.

And once the indictment is made/takes place then the trials moves on until the defendant is proved either guilty or innocent. Is that right?

Regards
Aamir the Global Citizen

 

[Tdol]

Re: Difference between "to indict" and "to sue" and other legal terms.

If John caused Steve to lose money, he would sue him, but if John stole the money, John could be charged criminally.