Legal case casesby a title of the form "Claimant v Defendant" (e.g. "Arkell v Pressdram"). Where a legal proceeding does not have formally designated adverse parties, a form such as "In re", "Re" or "In the matter of" is used (e.g. "In re Gault"). The "v" separating the parties is an abbreviation of the Latin versus, but, when spoken in Commonwealth countries, it is normally rendered as "and" or "against" (as in, for example, Charles Dickens' "Jarndyce and Jarndyce"). Where it is considered necessary to protect the anonymity of a natural person, some cases may have one or both parties replaced by
Legal aid in the United States Legal aid in the United States Legal aid in the United States is different for criminal law and civil law. Criminal legal aid with legal representation is guaranteed to defendants under criminal prosecution (related to the charges) who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Civil legal aid is "not" guaranteed under federal law, but is provided by a variety of public interest law firms and community legal clinics for free or reduced cost. In 1942, the Supreme Court ruled in "Betts v Brady" that courts were to assign legal aid on a case by case basis. In overturning this case,