| slovo | definícia |
indict
(encz) | indict,obvinit v: IvČa |
indict
(encz) | indict,obžalovat Pavel Machek; Giza |
Indict
(gcide) | Indict \In*dict"\ ([i^]n*d[imac]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Indicted ([i^]n*d[imac]t"[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n.
Indicting.] [OE. enditen. See Indite.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To write; to compose; to dictate; to indite. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
2. To appoint publicly or by authority; to proclaim or
announce. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
I am told shall have no Lent indicted this year.
--Evelyn.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Law) To charge with a crime, in due form of law, by the
finding or presentment of a grand jury; to bring an
indictment against; as, to indict a man for arson. It is
the peculiar province of a grand jury to indict, as it is
of a house of representatives to impeach.
[1913 Webster] |
indict
(wn) | indict
v 1: accuse formally of a crime |
| | podobné slovo | definícia |
indictment
(mass) | indictment
- obvinenie |
indictability
(encz) | indictability, n: |
indictable
(encz) | indictable,obvinitelný adj: Zdeněk Brožindictable,žalovatelný adj: Zdeněk Brož |
indiction
(encz) | indiction, n: |
indictment
(encz) | indictment,obžaloba Pavel Machek; Giza |
murder indictment
(encz) | murder indictment, n: |
unvindictive
(encz) | unvindictive, adj: |
vindictive
(encz) | vindictive,jízlivý adj: lukevindictive,mstivý adj: Zdeněk Brožvindictive,obhajující adj: Zdeněk Brožvindictive,pomstychtivý adj: Zdeněk Brož |
vindictively
(encz) | vindictively,ospravedlnitelně adv: Zdeněk Brož |
vindictiveness
(encz) | vindictiveness,jízlivost n: lukevindictiveness,mstivost n: Zdeněk Brožvindictiveness,ospravedlnitelnost n: Zdeněk Brožvindictiveness,pomstychtivost n: Zdeněk Brož |
Bill of indictment
(gcide) | Indictment \In*dict"ment\, n. [Cf. Inditement.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The act of indicting, or the state of being indicted.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Law) The formal statement of an offense, as framed by the
prosecuting authority of the State, and found by the grand
jury.
[1913 Webster]
Note: To the validity of an indictment a finding by the grand
jury is essential, while an information rests only on
presentation by the prosecuting authority.
[1913 Webster]
3. An accusation in general; a formal accusation.
[1913 Webster]
Bill of indictment. See under Bill.
[1913 Webster]Bill \Bill\, n. [OE. bill, bille, fr. LL. billa (or OF. bille),
for L. bulla anything rounded, LL., seal, stamp, letter,
edict, roll; cf. F. bille a ball, prob. fr. Ger.; cf. MHG.
bickel, D. bikkel, dice. Cf. Bull papal edict, Billet a
paper.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Law) A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong
the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a
fault committed by some person against a law.
[1913 Webster]
2. A writing binding the signer or signers to pay a certain
sum at a future day or on demand, with or without
interest, as may be stated in the document. [Eng.]
[1913 Webster]
Note: In the United States, it is usually called a note, a
note of hand, or a promissory note.
[1913 Webster]
3. A form or draft of a law, presented to a legislature for
enactment; a proposed or projected law.
[1913 Webster]
4. A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away,
to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale
of goods; a placard; a poster; a handbill.
[1913 Webster]
She put up the bill in her parlor window. --Dickens.
[1913 Webster]
5. An account of goods sold, services rendered, or work done,
with the price or charge; a statement of a creditor's
claim, in gross or by items; as, a grocer's bill.
[1913 Webster]
6. Any paper, containing a statement of particulars; as, a
bill of charges or expenditures; a weekly bill of
mortality; a bill of fare, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Bill of adventure. See under Adventure.
Bill of costs, a statement of the items which form the
total amount of the costs of a party to a suit or action.
Bill of credit.
(a) Within the constitution of the United States, a paper
issued by a State, on the mere faith and credit of the
State, and designed to circulate as money. No State
shall "emit bills of credit." --U. S. Const. --Peters.
--Wharton. --Bouvier
(b) Among merchants, a letter sent by an agent or other
person to a merchant, desiring him to give credit to
the bearer for goods or money.
Bill of divorce, in the Jewish law, a writing given by the
husband to the wife, by which the marriage relation was
dissolved. --Jer. iii. 8.
Bill of entry, a written account of goods entered at the
customhouse, whether imported or intended for exportation.
Bill of exceptions. See under Exception.
Bill of exchange (Com.), a written order or request from
one person or house to another, desiring the latter to pay
to some person designated a certain sum of money therein
generally is, and, to be negotiable, must be, made payable
to order or to bearer. So also the order generally
expresses a specified time of payment, and that it is
drawn for value. The person who draws the bill is called
the drawer, the person on whom it is drawn is, before
acceptance, called the drawee, -- after acceptance, the
acceptor; the person to whom the money is directed to be
paid is called the payee. The person making the order may
himself be the payee. The bill itself is frequently called
a draft. See Exchange. --Chitty.
Bill of fare, a written or printed enumeration of the
dishes served at a public table, or of the dishes (with
prices annexed) which may be ordered at a restaurant, etc.
Bill of health, a certificate from the proper authorities
as to the state of health of a ship's company at the time
of her leaving port.
Bill of indictment, a written accusation lawfully presented
to a grand jury. If the jury consider the evidence
sufficient to support the accusation, they indorse it "A
true bill," otherwise they write upon it "Not a true
bill," or "Not found," or "Ignoramus", or "Ignored."
Bill of lading, a written account of goods shipped by any
person, signed by the agent of the owner of the vessel, or
by its master, acknowledging the receipt of the goods, and
promising to deliver them safe at the place directed,
dangers of the sea excepted. It is usual for the master to
sign two, three, or four copies of the bill; one of which
he keeps in possession, one is kept by the shipper, and
one is sent to the consignee of the goods.
Bill of mortality, an official statement of the number of
deaths in a place or district within a given time; also, a
district required to be covered by such statement; as, a
place within the bills of mortality of London.
Bill of pains and penalties, a special act of a legislature
which inflicts a punishment less than death upon persons
supposed to be guilty of treason or felony, without any
conviction in the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.
--Bouvier. --Wharton.
Bill of parcels, an account given by the seller to the
buyer of the several articles purchased, with the price of
each.
Bill of particulars (Law), a detailed statement of the
items of a plaintiff's demand in an action, or of the
defendant's set-off.
Bill of rights, a summary of rights and privileges claimed
by a people. Such was the declaration presented by the
Lords and Commons of England to the Prince and Princess of
Orange in 1688, and enacted in Parliament after they
became king and queen. In America, a bill or declaration
of rights is prefixed to most of the constitutions of the
several States.
Bill of sale, a formal instrument for the conveyance or
transfer of goods and chattels.
Bill of sight, a form of entry at the customhouse, by which
goods, respecting which the importer is not possessed of
full information, may be provisionally landed for
examination.
Bill of store, a license granted at the customhouse to
merchants, to carry such stores and provisions as are
necessary for a voyage, custom free. --Wharton.
Bills payable (pl.), the outstanding unpaid notes or
acceptances made and issued by an individual or firm.
Bills receivable (pl.), the unpaid promissory notes or
acceptances held by an individual or firm. --McElrath.
A true bill, a bill of indictment sanctioned by a grand
jury.
[1913 Webster] |
Cycle of indiction
(gcide) | Cycle \Cy"cle\ (s?"k'l), n. [F. ycle, LL. cyclus, fr. Gr.
ky`klos ring or circle, cycle; akin to Skr. cakra wheel,
circle. See Wheel.]
1. An imaginary circle or orbit in the heavens; one of the
celestial spheres. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
2. An interval of time in which a certain succession of
events or phenomena is completed, and then returns again
and again, uniformly and continually in the same order; a
periodical space of time marked by the recurrence of
something peculiar; as, the cycle of the seasons, or of
the year.
[1913 Webster]
Wages . . . bear a full proportion . . . to the
medium of provision during the last bad cycle of
twenty years. --Burke.
[1913 Webster]
3. An age; a long period of time.
[1913 Webster]
Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.
--Tennyson.
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4. An orderly list for a given time; a calendar. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
We . . . present our gardeners with a complete cycle
of what is requisite to be done throughout every
month of the year. --Evelyn.
[1913 Webster]
5. The circle of subjects connected with the exploits of the
hero or heroes of some particular period which have served
as a popular theme for poetry, as the legend of Arthur and
the knights of the Round Table, and that of Charlemagne
and his paladins.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Bot.) One entire round in a circle or a spire; as, a
cycle or set of leaves. --Gray.
[1913 Webster]
7. A bicycle or tricycle, or other light velocipede.
[1913 Webster]
8. A motorcycle.
[PJC]
9. (Thermodynamics) A series of operations in which heat is
imparted to (or taken away from) a working substance which
by its expansion gives up a part of its internal energy in
the form of mechanical work (or being compressed increases
its internal energy) and is again brought back to its
original state.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
10. (Technology) A complete positive and negative, or forward
and reverse, action of any periodic process, such as a
vibration, an electric field oscillation, or a current
alternation; one period. Hence: (Elec.) A complete
positive and negative wave of an alternating current. The
number of cycles (per second) is a measure of the
frequency of an alternating current.
[Webster 1913 Suppl. + PJC]
Calippic cycle, a period of 76 years, or four Metonic
cycles; -- so called from Calippus, who proposed it as an
improvement on the Metonic cycle.
Cycle of eclipses, a period of about 6,586 days, the time
of revolution of the moon's node; -- called Saros by the
Chaldeans.
Cycle of indiction, a period of 15 years, employed in Roman
and ecclesiastical chronology, not founded on any
astronomical period, but having reference to certain
judicial acts which took place at stated epochs under the
Greek emperors.
Cycle of the moon, or Metonic cycle, a period of 19
years, after the lapse of which the new and full moon
returns to the same day of the year; -- so called from
Meton, who first proposed it.
Cycle of the sun, Solar cycle, a period of 28 years, at
the end of which time the days of the month return to the
same days of the week. The dominical or Sunday letter
follows the same order; hence the solar cycle is also
called the cycle of the Sunday letter. In the Gregorian
calendar the solar cycle is in general interrupted at the
end of the century.
[1913 Webster] |
Indict
(gcide) | Indict \In*dict"\ ([i^]n*d[imac]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Indicted ([i^]n*d[imac]t"[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n.
Indicting.] [OE. enditen. See Indite.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To write; to compose; to dictate; to indite. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
2. To appoint publicly or by authority; to proclaim or
announce. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
I am told shall have no Lent indicted this year.
--Evelyn.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Law) To charge with a crime, in due form of law, by the
finding or presentment of a grand jury; to bring an
indictment against; as, to indict a man for arson. It is
the peculiar province of a grand jury to indict, as it is
of a house of representatives to impeach.
[1913 Webster] |
Indictable
(gcide) | Indictable \In*dict"a*ble\, a.
Capable of being, or liable to be, indicted; subject to
indictment; as, an indictable offender or offense.
[1913 Webster] |
Indicted
(gcide) | Indict \In*dict"\ ([i^]n*d[imac]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Indicted ([i^]n*d[imac]t"[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n.
Indicting.] [OE. enditen. See Indite.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To write; to compose; to dictate; to indite. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
2. To appoint publicly or by authority; to proclaim or
announce. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
I am told shall have no Lent indicted this year.
--Evelyn.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Law) To charge with a crime, in due form of law, by the
finding or presentment of a grand jury; to bring an
indictment against; as, to indict a man for arson. It is
the peculiar province of a grand jury to indict, as it is
of a house of representatives to impeach.
[1913 Webster] |
Indictee
(gcide) | Indictee \In`dict*ee"\, n. (Law)
A person indicted.
[1913 Webster] |
Indicter
(gcide) | Indicter \In*dict"er\, n.
One who indicts.
[1913 Webster] |
Indicting
(gcide) | Indict \In*dict"\ ([i^]n*d[imac]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Indicted ([i^]n*d[imac]t"[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n.
Indicting.] [OE. enditen. See Indite.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To write; to compose; to dictate; to indite. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
2. To appoint publicly or by authority; to proclaim or
announce. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
I am told shall have no Lent indicted this year.
--Evelyn.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Law) To charge with a crime, in due form of law, by the
finding or presentment of a grand jury; to bring an
indictment against; as, to indict a man for arson. It is
the peculiar province of a grand jury to indict, as it is
of a house of representatives to impeach.
[1913 Webster] |
Indiction
(gcide) | Indiction \In*dic"tion\, n. [L. indictio: cf. F. indiction. See
Indict, Indite.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Declaration; proclamation; public notice or appointment.
[Obs.] "Indiction of a war." --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
Secular princes did use to indict, or permit the
indiction of, synods of bishops. --Jer. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]
2. A cycle of fifteen years.
[1913 Webster]
Note: This mode of reckoning time is said to have been
introduced by Constantine the Great, in connection with
the payment of tribute. It was adopted at various times
by the Greek emperors of Constantinople, the popes, and
the parliaments of France. Through the influence of the
popes, it was extensively used in the ecclesiastical
chronology of the Middle Ages. The number of indictions
was reckoned at first from 312 a. d., but since the
twelfth century it has been reckoned from the birth of
Christ. The papal indiction is the only one ever used
at the present day. To find the indiction and year of
the indiction by the first method, subtract 312 from
the given year a. d., and divide by 15; by the second
method, add 3 to the given year a. d., and the divide
by 15. In either case, the quotient is the number of
the current indiction, and the remainder the year of
the indiction. See Cycle of indiction, under Cycle.
[1913 Webster] |
Indictive
(gcide) | Indictive \In*dic"tive\, a. [L. indictivus. See Indict.]
Proclaimed; declared; public. --Kennet.
[1913 Webster] |
Indictment
(gcide) | Indictment \In*dict"ment\, n. [Cf. Inditement.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The act of indicting, or the state of being indicted.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Law) The formal statement of an offense, as framed by the
prosecuting authority of the State, and found by the grand
jury.
[1913 Webster]
Note: To the validity of an indictment a finding by the grand
jury is essential, while an information rests only on
presentation by the prosecuting authority.
[1913 Webster]
3. An accusation in general; a formal accusation.
[1913 Webster]
Bill of indictment. See under Bill.
[1913 Webster] |
Indictor
(gcide) | Indictor \In*dict"or\, n. (Law)
One who indicts. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster] |
Vindictive
(gcide) | Vindictive \Vin*dic"tive\, a. [For vindicative, confused with L.
vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf.
Vindicative.]
1. Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge;
revengeful.
[1913 Webster]
I am vindictive enough to repel force by force.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Punitive. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Vindictive damages. (Law) See under Damage, n.
[1913 Webster] -- Vin*dic"tive*ly, adv. --
Vin*dic"tive*ness, n.
[1913 Webster] |
Vindictive damages
(gcide) | Vindictive \Vin*dic"tive\, a. [For vindicative, confused with L.
vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf.
Vindicative.]
1. Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge;
revengeful.
[1913 Webster]
I am vindictive enough to repel force by force.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Punitive. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Vindictive damages. (Law) See under Damage, n.
[1913 Webster] -- Vin*dic"tive*ly, adv. --
Vin*dic"tive*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]Damage \Dam"age\ (d[a^]m"[asl]j; 48), n. [OF. damage, domage, F.
dommage, fr. assumed LL. damnaticum, from L. damnum damage.
See Damn.]
1. Injury or harm to person, property, or reputation; an
inflicted loss of value; detriment; hurt; mischief.
[1913 Webster]
He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool
cutteth off the feet and drinketh damage. --Prov.
xxvi. 6.
[1913 Webster]
Great errors and absurdities many commit for want of
a friend to tell them of them, to the great damage
both of their fame and fortune. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
2. pl. (Law) The estimated reparation in money for detriment
or injury sustained; a compensation, recompense, or
satisfaction to one party, for a wrong or injury actually
done to him by another.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In common-law actions, the jury are the proper judges
of damages.
[1913 Webster]
Consequential damage. See under Consequential.
Exemplary damages (Law), damages imposed by way of example
to others. Similar in purpose to vindictive damages,
below.
Nominal damages (Law), those given for a violation of a
right where no actual loss has accrued.
vindictive damages or punitive damages, those given
specially for the punishment of the wrongdoer.
Syn: Mischief; injury; harm; hurt; detriment; evil; ill. See
Mischief.
[1913 Webster] |
vindictive damages
(gcide) | Vindictive \Vin*dic"tive\, a. [For vindicative, confused with L.
vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf.
Vindicative.]
1. Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge;
revengeful.
[1913 Webster]
I am vindictive enough to repel force by force.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Punitive. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Vindictive damages. (Law) See under Damage, n.
[1913 Webster] -- Vin*dic"tive*ly, adv. --
Vin*dic"tive*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]Damage \Dam"age\ (d[a^]m"[asl]j; 48), n. [OF. damage, domage, F.
dommage, fr. assumed LL. damnaticum, from L. damnum damage.
See Damn.]
1. Injury or harm to person, property, or reputation; an
inflicted loss of value; detriment; hurt; mischief.
[1913 Webster]
He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool
cutteth off the feet and drinketh damage. --Prov.
xxvi. 6.
[1913 Webster]
Great errors and absurdities many commit for want of
a friend to tell them of them, to the great damage
both of their fame and fortune. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
2. pl. (Law) The estimated reparation in money for detriment
or injury sustained; a compensation, recompense, or
satisfaction to one party, for a wrong or injury actually
done to him by another.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In common-law actions, the jury are the proper judges
of damages.
[1913 Webster]
Consequential damage. See under Consequential.
Exemplary damages (Law), damages imposed by way of example
to others. Similar in purpose to vindictive damages,
below.
Nominal damages (Law), those given for a violation of a
right where no actual loss has accrued.
vindictive damages or punitive damages, those given
specially for the punishment of the wrongdoer.
Syn: Mischief; injury; harm; hurt; detriment; evil; ill. See
Mischief.
[1913 Webster] |
Vindictively
(gcide) | Vindictive \Vin*dic"tive\, a. [For vindicative, confused with L.
vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf.
Vindicative.]
1. Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge;
revengeful.
[1913 Webster]
I am vindictive enough to repel force by force.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Punitive. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Vindictive damages. (Law) See under Damage, n.
[1913 Webster] -- Vin*dic"tive*ly, adv. --
Vin*dic"tive*ness, n.
[1913 Webster] |
Vindictiveness
(gcide) | Vindictive \Vin*dic"tive\, a. [For vindicative, confused with L.
vindicta revenge, punishment, fr. vindicare to vindicate. Cf.
Vindicative.]
1. Disposed to revenge; prompted or characterized by revenge;
revengeful.
[1913 Webster]
I am vindictive enough to repel force by force.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Punitive. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
Vindictive damages. (Law) See under Damage, n.
[1913 Webster] -- Vin*dic"tive*ly, adv. --
Vin*dic"tive*ness, n.
[1913 Webster] |
bill of indictment
(wn) | bill of indictment
n 1: a formal document written for a prosecuting attorney
charging a person with some offense [syn: indictment,
bill of indictment] |
indictability
(wn) | indictability
n 1: the state of being liable to impeachment [syn:
impeachability, indictability] |
indictable
(wn) | indictable
adj 1: liable to be accused, or cause for such liability; "the
suspect was chargeable"; "an indictable offense" [syn:
chargeable, indictable] |
indiction
(wn) | indiction
n 1: a 15-year cycle used as a chronological unit in ancient
Rome and adopted in some medieval kingdoms |
indictment
(wn) | indictment
n 1: a formal document written for a prosecuting attorney
charging a person with some offense [syn: indictment,
bill of indictment]
2: an accusation of wrongdoing; "the book is an indictment of
modern philosophy" |
murder indictment
(wn) | murder indictment
n 1: an indictment charging someone with murder [syn: {murder
charge}, murder indictment] |
unvindictive
(wn) | unvindictive
adj 1: not vindictive |
vindictive
(wn) | vindictive
adj 1: disposed to seek revenge or intended for revenge; "more
vindictive than jealous love"- Shakespeare;
"punishments...essentially vindictive in their nature"-
M.R.Cohen [syn: revengeful, vindictive, vengeful]
2: showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt; motivated by
spite; "a despiteful fiend"; "a truly spiteful child"; "a
vindictive man will look for occasions for resentment" [syn:
despiteful, spiteful, vindictive] |
vindictively
(wn) | vindictively
adv 1: in a vindictive, revengeful manner; "he plotted
vindictively against his former superiors" [syn:
revengefully, vengefully, vindictively] |
vindictiveness
(wn) | vindictiveness
n 1: a malevolent desire for revenge [syn: vindictiveness,
vengefulness] |
BILL OF INDICTMENT
(bouvier) | BILL OF INDICTMENT. A written accusation of one or more persons, of a crime
or misdemeanor, lawfully presented to a grand jury, convoked, to consider
whether there is sufficient evidence of the charge contained therein to put
the accused on trial. It is returned to the court with an indorsement of
true bill (q. v.) when the grand jury are satisfied that the accused ought
to be tried; or ignoramus, when they are ignorant of any just cause to put
the accused upon hi.% trial.
|
INDICTED
(bouvier) | INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred
by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted.
|
INDICTION
(bouvier) | INDICTION, computation of time. An indiction contained a space of fifteen
years.
2. It was used in dating at Rome and in England. It began at the
dismission of the Nicene council, A. D. 312. The first year was reckoned the
first of the first indiction, the second, the third, &c., till fifteen years
afterwards. The sixteenth year was the first year of the second indiction,
the thirty-first year was the first year of the third indiction, &c.
|
INDICTMENT
(bouvier) | INDICTMENT, crim. law, practice. A written accusation of one or more persons
of a crime or misdemeanor, presented to, and preferred upon oath or
affirmation, by a grand jury legally convoked. 4 Bl. Com. 299; Co. Litt.
126; 2 Hale, 152; Bac. Ab. h.t.; Com. Dig. h.t. A; 1 Chit. Cr. L. 168.
2. This word, indictment, is said to be derived from the old French
word inditer, which signifies to indicate; to show, or point out. Its object
is to indicate the offence charged against the accused. Rey, des Inst.
l'Angl. tome 2, p. 347.
3. To render an indictment valid, there are certain essential and
formal requisites. The essential requisites are, 1st. That the indictment be
presented to some court having jurisdiction. of the offence stated therein.
2d. That it appear to have been found by the grand jury of the proper county
or district. 3d. That the indictment be found a true bill, and signed by the
foreman of the grand jury. 4th. That it be framed with sufficient certainty;
for this purpose the charge must contain a certain description of the crime
or misdemeanor, of which the defendant is accused, and a statement of the
facts by which it is constituted, so as to identify the accusation. Cowp.
682, 3; 2 Hale, 167; 1 Binn. R. 201; 3 Binn. R; 533; 1 P. A. Bro. R. 360; 6
S. & R. 398 4 Serg. & Rawle, 194; 4 Bl. Com. 301; Yeates, R. 407; 4 Cranch,
R. 167. 5th. The indictment must be in the English language. But if any
document in a foreign language, as a libel, be necessarily introduced, it
should be set out in the original tongue, and then translated, showing its
application. 6 T. R. 162.
4. Secondly, formal requisites are, 1st. The venue, which, at common
law should always be laid in the county where the offence has been
committed, although the charge is in its nature transitory, as a battery.
Hawk. B. 2, c. 25, s. 35. The venue is stated in the margin thus, "City and
county of _____ to wit." 2d. The presentment, which must be in the present
tense, and is usually expressed by the following formula, "the grand inquest
of the commonwealth of ______ inquiring for the city and county aforesaid,
upon their oaths and affirmations present." See, as to the venue, 1 Pike, R.
171; 9 Yerg. 357. 3d. The name and addition of the defendant; but in case an
error has been made in this respect, it is cured by the plea of the
defendant. Bac. Ab. Misnomer, B; Indictment, G 2; 2 Hale, 175; 1 Chit. Pr.
202. 4th. The names of third persons, when they must be necessarily
mentioned in the indictment, should be stated with certainty to a common
intent, so as sufficiently to inform the defendant who are his accusers.
When, however, the names of third persons cannot be ascertained, it is
sufficient, in some cases, to state "a certain person or persons to the
jurors aforesaid unknown." Hawk. B. 2, c. 25, s. 71; 2 East, P. C. 651, 781;
2 Hale, 181; Plowd. 85; Dyer, 97, 286; 8 C. & P. 773. See Unknown. 5th. The
time when the offence was committed, should in general be stated to be on a
specific year and day. In some offences, as in perjury, the day must be
precisely stated; 2 Wash. C. C. Rep. 328; but although it is necessary that
a day certain should be laid in the indictment, yet, in general, the
prosecutor may give evidence of an offence committed on any other day
previous to the finding of the, indictment. 5 Serg. & Rawle, 316. Vide 11
Serg. & Rawle, 177; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 217, 224; 1 Ch. Pl. Index, tit. Time.
See 17 Wend. 475; 2 Dev. 567; 5 How. Mis. 14; 4 Dana. 496; C. & N. 369; 1
Hawks, 460. 6th. The offence should be properly described. This is done by
stating the substantial circumstances necessary to show the nature of the
crime and, next, the formal allegations and terms of art required by law. 1.
As to the substantial circumstances. The whole of the facts of the case
necessary to make it appear judicially to the court that the indictors have
gone upon sufficient premises, should be set forth; but there should be no
unnecessary matter or any thing which on its face makes the indictment
repugnant, inconsistent, or absurd. Hale, 183; Hawk. B. 2, c. 25, s. 57; Ab.
h.t. G 1; Com. Dig. h.t. G 3; 2 Leach, 660; 2 Str. 1226. All indictments
ought to charge a man with a particular offence, and not with being an
offender in general: to this rule there are some exceptions, as indictments
against a common barrator, a common scold, and the keeper of a common bawdy
house; such persons may be indicted by these general words. 1 Chit. Cr. Law,
230, and the authorities there cited. The offence must not be stated in the
disjunctive, so as to leave it uncertain on what it is intended to rely as
an accusation; as, that the defendant erected or caused to be. erected a
nuisance. 2 Str. 900; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 236.
2. There are certain terms of art used, so appropriated by the law to
express the precise idea which it entertains of the offence, that no other
terms, however synonymous they may seem, are capable of filling the same
office: such, for example, as traitorously, (q.v.) in treason; feloniously,
(q.v.) in felony; burglariously, (q.v.) in burglary; maim, (q.v.) in
mayhem, &c. 7th. The conclusion of the indictment should conform to the
provision of the constitution of the state on the subject, where there is
such provision; as in Pennsylvania, Const. art. V., s. 11, which provides,
that "all prosecutions shall be carried on in the name and by the authority
of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and conclude against the peace and
dignity of the same." As to the necessity and propriety of having several
counts in an indictment, vide 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 248; as to. joinder of
several offences in the same indictment, vide 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 253; Arch.
Cr. Pl. 60; several defendants may in some cases be joined in the same
indictment. Id. 255; Arch. Cr. Pl. 59. When an indictment may be amended,
see Id. 297. Stark. Cr. Pl. 286; or quashed, Id. 298 Stark. Cr. Pl. 831;
Arch. Cr. 66. Vide; generally, Arch. Cr. Pl. B. 1, part 1, c. 1; p. 1 to 68;
Stark. Cr. Pl. 1 to 336; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, 168 to 304; Com. Dig. h.t.: Vin.
Ab. h.t.; Bac. Ab. h.t.; Dane's Ab. h.t.; Nels. Ab. h.t.; Burn's Just.
h.t.; Russ. on Cr. Index, h.t.,
5. By the Constitution of the United States, Amend. art. 5, no person
shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless
on a presentment or indictment of a 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.
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INDICTOR
(bouvier) | INDICTOR. He who causes another to be indicted. The latter is sometimes
called the indictee.
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