When a person is charged, they are formally notified that they believe they have committed a crime. The indictment contains the basic information that informs the person of the charges against them. A formal indictment accuses a person of a criminal offence. The prosecution allows the government to prosecute an alleged criminal actor for the crimes charged in the indictment.
During an indictment procedure, a grand jury determines that there is an adequate basis for bringing criminal charges against an alleged criminal actor. A formal indictment is a legal accusation against a person suspected of having committed a serious crime. Charges are filed after a grand jury investigation, but usually before an arrest. Indictments can be issued at the federal or state level.
In some states and in the federal system, prosecutors are required by law to bring charges before the grand jury system, and those charges take the form of an indictment. Like an indictment, information is a formal indictment document that describes the criminal charges against a person and the factual basis of those charges. A grand jury indictment occurs early in a case and indicates that the defendant is facing criminal charges. Criminal information is a formal document that details criminal charges filed against a person.
In a white collar federal criminal case, an “indictment”, “information” and a “complaint” serve the same function: they initiate a criminal case and inform the accused of the charges against them. To obtain a formal indictment, the prosecutor must present evidence to a grand jury, a panel of citizens selected for service, as well as a juvenile jury (or trial jury). The use of a criminal complaint is to establish a possible cause, allowing an arrest warrant to be issued. A criminal complaint is a statement of evidence of a crime, completed under oath by a law enforcement official.
An indictment occurs when crimes of a serious nature are committed, such as murder, rape, arson, homicide and robbery with violence. Under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, an indictment is mandatory for a capital or infamous crime. However, unlike an indictment, a criminal information document does not require the vote of a grand jury. The accusation is so serious that many states have an independent list of impartial citizens who vote for the innocence or guilt of the accused.
A criminal case begins when a prosecutor or grand jury brings formal charges against a defendant, through a criminal complaint or indictment (Indite-ment). Once the indictment has been formalized, a criminal trial will be scheduled to evaluate the evidence and issue a ruling on the case. After a grand jury has indicted someone, a criminal trial will be organized to review the evidence and determine the defendant's involvement.
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