INDICTMENT, in-dit'la•t (from (ir. endi rndiet(r, inditer, indict, •, to accuse. Latin indicion, frequentative of indm•c, to proclaim, from in, in + di•cre, to say, Skt. di.4, to show). The formal written accusation of crime against a person. presented on oath by a grand jury (q.v.). and upon which he is tried by a petit jury. in Scotland an indictment is also the 1111 which a prisoner is tried; hut it runs in the name of the lord advo cat•, addressed to the prisoner. In England a prisoner is not entitled, before trial. to a copy of the indictment or a list of the witnesses against him except in ease of treason. An indictment differs from an information (q.v.) in that it is the act of a grand jury. while nn information is the written accusation of crime IT the law officer of the Crown or of the State. It differs from presentment (q.v.1 in that the latter is an accusation by the grand jury of its own motion. and without any charge of crime, or any bill of indictment being laid before it.
In the Vnited States persons who are accused of felonies or grave misdemeanors van be brought to trial only upon an indictment which a grand jury has declared to be 'a true bill.' When a criminal court is convened, and the grand jury has been duly constituted and instructed. the State's attorney. or some other dilly qualified officer, lays before them drafts of indictment against the alleged offenders, and furnishes them with the names of the witnesses whose testimony is relied upon to support the accusation. These witnesses the grand jury examines ex pa•tr, not to determine theme ilt or innocence of the ae eused, but to ascertain whether there is or is not prinin facie evidenee of guilt sufficient to warrant their trial. If twelve or more members of the grand jury pronounce in the affirmative, the presentment. with the words 'a true bill' indorsed upon the hack thereof. is sent to the court: and, upon the charges therein contained. carefully set forth in the indictment sobsequently prepared, the accused is put upon trial before a petit jury.
The indictment is prefaced by a 'caption.' in which are set forth the name, term. and place of meeting 1 if the court, the names of the and the fact that the grand jury was lawfully constituted. Then comes a full and particular deseription of the alleged crime; the name of the accused Must, be given if known; and if not. he must be described in snob a way as to make his identity sure. The time and plate of the com mission of the crime must also be stated, though it is not always necessary to conviction that these particulars should be exactly supported as charged. in some cases, however. a failure upon this point is fatal to the indictment. In trials for perjury the exact. day when the offense was committed must be named. To prove that the crime was committed on some other day will not avail. in cases of murder the death must be described as occurring within a year and a day of the time when the alleged fatal injury was inflicted. When several persons have been concerned in the commission of a crime. they may be indicted either jointly or separately. Tt is usual to describe the alleged offense in different ways, in what are usually called 'counts,' in order to cover any uncertainty that may exist beforehand as to the precise way in which it was committed. It is enough if the prisoner is convicted upon a single count. The indictment must charge explicitly whatever is necessary to constitute the offense. In many of our States the harsh rule of the common law, which denied the right of a person accused of treason or felony to have a copy of the indictment, has been abolished by statute. Consult: Pike, His tory of Crime in England (London, 1876) ; Ste phens. History of the Criminal Law of England (London, 1SS3) : Pollock and Maitland. History of English Laze (2d ed.. London. 1S99) ; United States Constitution, Fifth Amendment.