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Indictment
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== United States == The [[Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States|Fifth Amendment]] of the [[Constitution of the United States|United States Constitution]] states in part: "No person shall be held to answer for a [[Capital punishment in the United States#Capital crimes|capital]], or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a [[Grand juries in the United States|Grand Jury]], except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia when in actual service in time of War or public danger." The requirement of an indictment has not been [[incorporation of the Bill of Rights|incorporated]] against the states; therefore, even though the federal government uses grand juries and indictments, not all states do.<ref>{{cite court |litigants= [[Hurtado v. California]] |vol= 110 |reporter= U.S. |opinion= 516 |date=1884 |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/110/516/case.html }}</ref> As of 2019, all states besides Pennsylvania and Connecticut still use grand juries to indict suspects for some offenses.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-21 |title=Which States Use Criminal Grand Juries? |url=https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/criminal-defense/which-states-use-criminal-grand-juries/ |first1= Daniel |last1=Taylor |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=FindLaw |language=en}}</ref> In many jurisdictions that use grand juries, prosecutors often have a choice between seeking an indictment from a [[grand jury]] and filing a charging document directly with the court.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Dressler |first=Joshua |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1163600897 |title=Criminal procedure: principles, policies, and perspectives |date=2020 |first2=George C. |last2=Thomas |first3=Daniel S. |last3=Medwed |publisher=West Academic Publishing |isbn=978-1-64242-236-8 |edition=7 |location=St. Paul, MN |pages=857β900, 1097β1101 |oclc=1163600897}}</ref> Such a document is usually called an ''[[Information (formal criminal charge)|information]]'', ''accusation'', or ''complaint'', to distinguish it from a grand-jury indictment. To protect the suspect's [[due process]] rights in felony cases (where the suspect's interest in liberty is at stake), there is usually a [[preliminary hearing]], at which a judge determines whether there was probable cause to arrest the suspect who is in custody. If the judge finds such probable cause, they bind, or hold over, the suspect for trial.<ref name=":0" /> The substance of an indictment or other charging instrument is usually the same, regardless of the jurisdiction: it consists of a short and plain statement of where, when, and how the defendant allegedly committed the offense. Each offense is usually set out in a separate ''count''. Indictments for complex crimes, particularly those involving [[conspiracy (criminal)|conspiracy]] or numerous counts, may run to hundreds of pages. In other cases, however, an indictment for a crime as serious as [[murder]] may consist of a single sheet of paper. Indictable offenses are tried by [[jury]], unless the accused waives the right to a jury trial. Even though the [[Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Sixth Amendment]] of the Constitution mandates the right to a jury trial in any criminal prosecution, the vast majority of criminal cases in the US are resolved by the [[Plea bargain|plea-bargaining]] process.<ref name=":0" />
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