Complaint
A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States · John Bouvier · 1839
A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States
crim. law, is the allegation made to a proper officer, that some person, whether known or unknown, has been guilty of a designated offence, with an offer to prove the fact, and a request that the offender may be punished. To have a legal effect, the complaint must be supported by such evidence as shows that an act which constitutes an offence has been committed, and renders it certain or probable that it was committed by some _ person named or described in the complaint.