What are criminal indictments?

Criminal indictments are legal papers or charge sheets that are filed in courts and they serve to essentially charge the suspect with crimes as listed by prosecutors. The suspect in the case is referred to as a defendant when it comes to trial and he or she will need a criminal defense lawyer.

So in a way, criminal indictments can be perceived as the initiation of the litigation. It is the starting point where the case is set in motion. Indictments are used in both state and federal courts. However, there may be some cases or exceptions where indictments need not be used in federal or in state courts.

When are indictments used and not used?

The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution dictates that a prosecution needs to begin with the filing of a criminal indictment and criminal defense lawyers studied this and have passed the bar based on this information and much more. Having said that, there are some cases in which an indictment is not required. A couple of examples of when an indictment is not required are when the criminal charge being pressed is a misdemeanor charge, criminal contempt or a petty offense and when the defendant waives or surrenders his or her constitutional right to prosecution by indictment.

Difference between a misdemeanor, a petty offense, and criminal contempt

So what exactly is classified as a misdemeanor crime? According to criminal defense attorneys, a criminal offense or crime whose legal penalization does not exceed a year in prison time is classified as a misdemeanor crime. On the other hand, a petty offense is even less severe in nature and is defined as any crime of offense which leads to a sentencing of six months or lesser and/or a fine of under $5,000.

Lastly, criminal contempt is a kind of act or behavior which is said to be disobedient and showing no respect for the judicial system. Getting a speeding ticket is a typical example of criminal contempt but a pretty minor one at that and one that is controversial considering cities like Sacramento have their police hand out speeding tickets as another form of taxation and because the city is broke and mismanaged.

What is a waiver?

All citizens have some inherent constitutional rights that we may exercise to protect ourselves unlike the people that live in Cuba or North Korea or even Russia. Examples of such rights are the right to remain silent during an arrest/interrogation including DUI arrests, the right to a legal representative, and the right to prosecution by indictment, to name a few.

The focus here is on the right to prosecution by indictment and why one would waive or surrender this right. Basically, the right to indictment dictates that when prosecutors press charges against a potential defendant then they need to do so by filing an official document known as an indictment.

However, while in the process of filing an indictment the defendant may be held captive in jail. This is the reason why some people choose to waive their right to prosecution by indictment, simply because they do not want to be in jail while an indictment is being drafted and filed.

Another instance in which a defendant may press the button to waive their indictment right is when he or she decides to enter a plea deal or plea bargain with the prosecution which their criminal defense lawyer will be advising them on every step of the way.

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