Legal Definitions - full defense

Full defense is a legal term used in court cases. It refers to a defendant's stated reason why the plaintiff or prosecutor has no valid case. It is a complete and detailed answer, denial, or plea made by the defendant.

For example, if a person is accused of robbery, their full defense may be that they were 25 miles away from the building at the time of the robbery. This defense is a complete and detailed explanation of why the plaintiff's case is not valid.

Full defense is different from an affirmative defense, which is a defendant's assertion of facts and arguments that, if true, will defeat the plaintiff's or prosecution's claim, even if all the allegations in the complaint are true.

Overall, full defense is a technical common-law defensive plea that is stated at length and without abbreviation. It is now obsolete because of the pleading requirements in federal and state rules of civil procedure.