Which statement best explains why the government serves as the plaintiff in a criminal case? a) crime affects society, so it is the government's responsibility to bring cases against defendants to deal with them as harshly as possible. b) individuals are never directly harmed by violations of the law, so they cannot be plaintiffs in criminal cases. c) a crime is a violation of the law, which was made and enforced by the government, not individuals. d) individual plaintiffs might know the defendant and therefore cannot be impartial in charging them with a crime.

The plaintiff is the group or the person who is accusing someone of doing something wrong.  The plaintiff accuses and it is up to the defense to prove it wrong.  

Question: Which statement best explains why the government serves as the plaintiff in a criminal case?

C) A crime is a violation of the law, which was made and enforced by the government, not individuals.

The correct answer is C. A crime is a violation of the law, which was made and enforced by the government, not individuals.

Criminal cases involve an action that is considered to be harmful to society as a whole. It is not the victim's responsibility to bring a criminal case. Civil cases usually involve private disputes between persons or organizations.

classical republicanism, also known as civic humanism, is a form of republicanism  developed in the renaissance inspired by the governmental forms and writings of  classical  antiquity, especially such  classical  writers as aristotle, polybius, and cicero.