# Defendant

When adding entries for defendants, we record only the "real party in interest" – that is, who is really being sued. This may be different from the names listed on a complaint, as sometimes a suit will be filed naming an individual who represents or works for a government agency, but it’s the agency that defends the lawsuit, obeys the injunction, and pays the damages.

For example, if a plaintiff sues a state, the state's governor, and the state's attorney general, we usually would record only the state as a defendant.

## name

(*string*)

The name of the "real party in interest" – typically the institution being sued or the institution represented by the individuals being sued. Sometimes, this might also be the title of a position that a person holds. In very rare cases, `name` will refer to an actual person.

## institution

(*string*)

The institution or agency that took the action that formed the basis of the lawsuit. If this is the same as [#name](#name "mention"), then `institution` should be an empty string.

## institution\_city

(*string*)

The city of the defendant's location. This is *not* where the challenged action(s) took place. If the defendant is a state or federal entity (i.e. applies to the whole state or country), then `institution_city` is an empty string.

## institution\_county

(*string*)

The county of the defendant's location. This is *not* where the challenged action(s) took place. The choices for this field are limited to the counties in the case's state (see [Case Details](/api-reference-v2p1/objects/case/case-details.md#state)). If the defendant is a state or federal entity (i.e. applies to the whole state or country), then `institution_county` is `null`.

## institution\_alt\_state

(*string*)

The state of the defendant's location if the state is different from the case's state (see [Case Details](/api-reference-v2p1/objects/case/case-details.md#state)). If the defendant's state is the same as the case's state is `null`. If the defendant is a federal entity, then `institution_alt_state` is `"- United States (national) -"`. Similarly, if the defendant is an international entity, then `institution_alt_state` is `"- International -"`.

For a full list of possible states, see [Case Details](/api-reference-v2p1/objects/case/case-details.md#state).

## defendant\_level

(*string*)

The type or category of the defendant in terms of what the defendant governs.

| Value                  | Description                                                                                                                                                                              |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| null                   | The defendant's level does not fit within one of the Clearinghouse's predefined choices. See [#defendant\_level\_other-not-in-api-yet](#defendant_level_other-not-in-api-yet "mention"). |
| City                   | A city or city-level entity.                                                                                                                                                             |
| County                 | A county or county-level entity.                                                                                                                                                         |
| Federal                | A country or federal entity.                                                                                                                                                             |
| Non-profit or advocacy | A nonprofit or advocacy organization that is not a governmental body.                                                                                                                    |
| Political Party        | A political party.                                                                                                                                                                       |
| Private Entity/Person  | A private entity or individual person.                                                                                                                                                   |
| Regional               | An entity associated with a region that is not a city, county, state, or country.                                                                                                        |
| School District        | A public school district.                                                                                                                                                                |
| State                  | A state or state entity.                                                                                                                                                                 |
| Tribe                  | An indigenous tribe.                                                                                                                                                                     |
| Union                  | A labor union.                                                                                                                                                                           |

Note: This is different from [the "Defendant-type" case issue](/api-reference-v2p1/objects/case/issues.md#defendant-type).

## defendant\_level\_other

(*string*)

The type or category of the defendant in terms of what the defendant governs if it does not fall under one of the options for [#defendent\_level](#defendent_level "mention").

Note: This is different from [the "Defendant-type" case issue](/api-reference-v2p1/objects/case/issues.md#defendant-type).


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