criminal complaint

Justin Schwartz jkschw at hotmail.com
Tue Jan 22 07:34:32 PST 2002



>
>
>What's the difference between a criminal complaint and an indictment? And
>what's the significance that the charges against Johnny Walker are in the
>form of a criminal complaint rather than an indictment?
>
>Michael
>

1) You can be indicted by a grand jury, which hears the prosecution's story in closed chambers and decides if there is enough to issue a true bill, i.e., for the government to proceed with the case. (It almost always does.). Fed. R. Crim P. 7(a).

2) A defendant may waive the grand jury proceeding and allow the governt to proceed by "information," which is just a statement of the charges and their basis. Rule 7(b).

3) A complaint is a written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. Fed. R. Crim P. 3. It's normally the basis of a warrant if there is probable cause.


>__________________________________________________________________________
>Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com
>

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