A person or organization who is defending against a legal claim together with one or more other defendants in the same lawsuit.
From 'co-' (together) plus 'defendant' (one who defends in court). This legal term indicates multiple people being sued in the same case and defending against the charges together.
In big legal cases, codefendants sometimes turn on each other—one might make a plea deal to testify against the other, which is why prosecutors sometimes charge multiple people together strategically!
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