People often appears as the title given in a case name to stand for the government party, with the idea that the government is representing the public in the case. For example, the title in the case People v. Thomas is representing the people of New York State. Often, government names in cases appear either as the state name, simply “State,” or “United States” when the federal government is a party.
[Last updated in October of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]