A private citizen is someone who does not have an official or professional role in a given situation. The same person may be a private citizen in one role, and an

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

in another. For example, a

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

is an official when voting in the legislature, but a private citizen when paying taxes or when undertaking a

citizen's arrest A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – that is, a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which ...

in a public place. A person may remain a private citizen even when having considerable political power and influence:

...Pericles, in his capacity as a private citizen, was able to dominate the affairs of the Athenian assembly, and to direct and guide the ''demos'' for nearly a generation.

In law

Private citizens in ''

qui tam In common law, a writ of ''qui tam'' is a writ through which private individuals who assist a prosecution can receive for themselves all or part of the damages or financial penalties recovered by the government as a result of the prosecution. Its ...

'' actions bring suit on behalf of the state but are not

officers of the court In common law jurisdictions, the generic term officer of the court is applied to all those who, in some degree in the function of their professional or similar qualifications, have a part in the legal system. Officers of the court may include ent ...

, and are possibly eligible for a reward. Private citizens may have the right to make citizen's arrests under certain circumstances, despite not being sworn law-enforcement officials. Private citizens may have the right to bring

citizen suits In the United States, a citizen suit is a lawsuit by a private citizen to enforce a statute. Citizen suits are particularly common in the field of environmental law. Citizen suits come in three forms. First, a private citizen can bring a lawsu ...

to enforce a

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

. A government employee may be considered to be a private citizen in the context of law enforcement actions. For example, an emergency medical technician who discovered contraband on a patient was ruled not to be a "government agent" for the purposes of the constitutional restrictions on government searches. Walter v. United States

Notes

People by legal status Citizenship

In law

See also

Notes