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An indictment (/ ɪ n ˈ d aɪ t m ən t / [1] in-DYTE-mənt) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony ; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indictable offence , an offence that requires an indictment.
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury (in contrast to a summary offence).
The Indictments Act 1915 (5 & 6 Geo. 5.c. 90) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made significant changes to the law relating to indictments.The law relating to indictments evolved during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and became lengthy, confusing and highly technical to the point where some barristers specialised entirely in drawing up indictments.
An information is a formal criminal charge which, depending upon the jurisdiction, either begins or continues a criminal proceeding in the courts. The information is one of the oldest common law pleadings (first appearing around the 13th century), and is nearly as old as the better-known indictment, with which it has always coexisted.
There are two kinds of criminal trial in England and Wales: "summary" and "on indictment". For an adult, summary trials take place in a magistrates' court, while trials on indictment take place in the Crown Court. Despite the possibility of two venues for trial, almost all criminal cases, however serious, commence in the magistrates' courts.
Donald Trump has become first president in US history to face criminal charges
During the second stage, the post-indictment arraignment, the defendant is allowed to enter a plea. In New York, a person arrested without a warrant and kept in custody must be brought before a local criminal court for arraignment "without unnecessary delay". [13] A delay of more than 24 hours is rebuttably presumed to be unnecessary. [14]
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