Indictment

2 A written accusation of one or more persons of a crime or misdemeanor, preferred to and presented upon oath by a grand jury.'

Indict.

To charge with crime by means of an indictment.

Indicted.

Charged by indictment. Indictor atid indictee are not now in use.

Indictable.

Admitting of prosecution by indictment. "Rill of indictment. The written accusation presented to the grand jury, and found by them to be a "true bill" or " not a true bill." The indictment intended by the Vth Amendment is the presentation to the pi'oper court, under oath, by a grand jury, duly impaneled, of a charge describing an offense against the law for which the party may be punished.'' Ko change can be made in the body of such instrument without a re-submission to the grand jury — except where statutes prescribe othei-wise. But changes may be made in the " caption." * The object of indictment is, first, to furnish the accused with such a, description of the charge against him as will enable him to make his defense, and avail himself of his conviction or acquittal for protection against a further prosecution for the same offense; and, second, to inform the court of the facts alleged, so that it may decide whether they are suflftoieut in law to support a conviction if one should be hj.d.' The object is, that the defendant may know what to meet; that he may plead a;Eormer acquittal or conviction; and that he may take the opinion of the court before which he is indicted, by demurrer or motion in arrest of judgment, or, the opinion of a court of error on the suf Bciency of the statements in the indictment." Facts are to »e stated, not conclusions of law alone. A crime is made up of acts and intent; and these must be set forth with reasonable particularity of time, place, and cu-cumstances. Every ingredient of the offense must be clearly alleged. Where the definition of an offense includes generic terms, the indictment must state the species.' > '60 Mo. 420; 1 Pars. Contr. 45. ar. indicter, to accuse: L. L. indif Mre, to point out: L. indicere, to proclaim.

3 4 Bl. Com. 302. See also 4 Col. 203; 12 Conn. 452; 4 Mich. 424; 72 Mo. 106; 13 Wend. 317; 21 id. 570; 11 Ohio, n; 19 Ohio St. 255. 'Exp Bain, 120 U. S. 1, 6-0 (1887), cases. Miller, J. And see 26 Am. Law Reg. 416-47 (1887), cases. » United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 558 (1875), njnited States v. Bennett, 16 Blatoh.

350-51 (1879), Blatchford, J.; Bradlaugh v. The Queen, L. E.,3 Q. B. Where the offense is a common-law offense, the technical words of the common law must be usec\; where the offense is statutory, the substance of the words may be followed.' For a statutory offense, the charge must be so laid as to bring the case within the description of the offense given in the statute, alleging distinctly the essential requisites. Nothing is to be left to implication or intendment. It is sufficient to pursue the words of the act, or, if that would leave an ambiguity, then the substance and legal effect of the words.^ The I'ule that a statutory offense need not be charged in the words of the statute does not apply to technical terms and words of art which have acquired a conventional meaning and cannot be dispensed with, such as "murdered," "feloniously," and the like. But every material ingredient, constituting the description of the offense in the statute, whether an act done, knowledge had, an Intent or purpose entertained, or the existence of any collateral fact, must be afarmatively stated in plain, direct, intelligible language. = Where tue statute simply designates the offense, and does not in express terms name its constituent elements, the information must sometimes be expanded beyond the statutory terms.'' When a statute contains provisos and exceptions in distinct clauses, it is not necessary to state that the defendant does not come within the exceptions, or to negative the provisos. But if the exceptions are contained in the enacting clause, it will be necessary to negative them, that the description of the crime may in all respects correspond with the statute.' Where an offense may be committed by doing any one of several things, the indictment may, m a single count, group them together, and charge the defendant with having committed them aU, and a conviction may be had of any one of the things, without proof of the commission of the others." Several offenses of the same class or kind, growing out of the same transaction, though committed at different times, may be joined in the same indictment in separate counts.' Where the same offense is charged in different V. Cook, 17 WaU.

173-77 (18T3), cases; United States v. Hess, 184 U. S. 483 (1888), cases. 'United States i). Bachelder, 2 Gall. *18 (1814), Story, J.; Cannon d. United States, 116 U. S. 78 (1885), Cd.&6S ' United States v. Staats, 8 How. 44 (1850), Nelson, J. a Edwards v. Commonwealth, 19 Pick. 125 (1837), Shaw, C. J. See 4 Bl. Com, 307, 287; 11 F. R.,240; 2 Flip. 319; 87 Ind. 70; 30 Kan. 365, 612; 17 Nev. 280; 60 Pa. 848; 77Va. 54. 4 State V. Gavigan, 36 Kan. 327 (1887); 30 id. 365. See generally State v. CampbeU, 28 Tex. 46 (1867), cases: 94 Am. Dec. 863-58 (1888), cases. » 1 Chitty, Cr. L. 283 6, 284: United States v. Britton, 107 U. S. 670 (1882); United States v. Cook, 17 Wall. 173-74 (1872), cases. » Bork V. People, 91 N. Y. 13 (1863); State «. Gray, 29 Minn. 144 (1882), cases.

7 v. Wentworth, 11 F. E. 58 (1882); Exp. counts, the whole indictment may be submitted to the jm-y, with instructions, it they find the defendant guilty upon any count, to return a general verdict of guilty; otherwise, where one count is had, and the evidence thereon is submitted with the rest, against objection.'

See Bad, 2.

For a common-law offense, the conclusion of an indictment is "against the peace and dignity" of the commonwealth or State; for a statutory offense, " against the form of the statute in such case made and provided."'^ See Amendment, 1; Form, 2, Of statute. An indictment is to be distinguished from a presentment and an inform atioi^, gg. v. See also Abbreviations; Caption, 2; Challenge.

2; Commencement; Confession, 2; Copt; Crime; Demubrbr; Divers; Evidence; Exceeding; Idem, Sonans; Identity. 1; Ignore; Indorse, 1; Infamy; Jeofail; Joint; Jury; Negative; Or, 2; Nolle Prosequi; Nolo Contendere; Place, 1; Quash; Sentence; Xhen AND There; Verbum, In hsec. rWDIFFERENT. 1.

Said of an appraiser, whei'e property has been taken in execution: impartial, free from bias.

3 2.

Said of a juror: that the mind is in a state of neutrality as respects the person and the matter to be tried; that there exists no bias, for or against either party, calculated to operate upon him; that he comes to the trial vpith a mind uncommitted and prepared to weigh the evidence in impartial scales.* Compare Impartial.