Is there a name for the practice of dropping articles in legal writing?

I see this a lot in legal writing.

"The defendant will be required to pay $1000 in restitution."

vs.

"Defendant will be required to pay $1000 in restitution."

Or,

Upon arrival, police noticed a foul smell in the air.

vs.

Upon arrival, the police noticed a foul smell in the air.

Similarly, sometimes the article "a/an" is dropped.

Does this have a name? Lots of lawyers write this way, but I don't know if its a legitimate style or just bad form. I'm not referring to one line confirmations, as mentioned in a previous question.

Solution 1:

I am not sure whether there is a technical term, but legal writing is filled with specially defined terms. (Many legal writings have limits on length so there is a premium on eliminating excess words.) So "Defendant" with a capital letter may have been previously defined as "Ms. Maria J Smith residing at 343 Hill Street, Mobile, AL (hereafter the "Defendant.") In effect, "Defendant" with a capital now substitutes for "Maria J. Smith." We would not say " the Maria J. Smith."