QUASH. In Practice. To overthrow or an nul.
When proceedings are clearly irregular and void, the courts will quash them, both in civ il and criminal cases: for example, when the array is irregular, as, if the jurors have been selected by persons not authorized by law, It will be quashed.
In criminal cases, when an indictment is so defective that no judgment can be given upon it, should the defendant be convicted, the court, upon application, will, in general, quash it: as, if it have no jurisdiction of the offence charged, or when the matter charged is not indictable ; 1 Burr. 516, 543; U. S. v. Wardell, 49 Fed. 914. It is in the discretion of the court to quash an indictment or to leave the defendant to a motion in arrest of judgment; Corn. v. Eastman, 1 Cush. (Mass.) 189, 48 Am. Dec. 596; State v. Miller, 100 N. C. 543, 5 S. E. 925. When the application to quash is made on the part of the defendant, in English practice, the court generally re fuses to quash the indictment when it ap pears some enormous crime has been com mitted; Comyns, Dig. Indictment (H); 3
Term 621; 3 Burr. 1841; Bacon, Abr. In dictment (K).
When the application is made on the part of the prosecution, the indictment will be quashed whenever it is defective so that the defendant cannot be convicted, and the pros ecution appears to be bona fide. If the prose cution be instituted by the attorney-general, he may, in some states, enter a none prose qui, which has the same effect; 1 Dougl. 239, 240. The application should be made 'before plea pleaded; Leach 11; 4 How. State Tr. 232; State v. Clark, 4 Idaho 7, 35 Pac. 710; and before the defendant's recognizance has been forfeited; 1 Salk. 380. See CASSETUR BREVE.