Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The act of indicting.
- n. The condition of being indicted.
- n. Law A written statement charging a party with the commission of a crime or other offense, drawn up by a prosecuting attorney and found and presented by a grand jury.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The act of indicting; accusation; formal charge or statement of grievances; formal complaint before a tribunal.
- n. In law, the formal complaint by which a criminal offense, found by the grand jury to have been committed, is by it charged against the supposed offender for presentation to the court, that he may be put on trial. It is generally drafted by the public prosecutor, and is termed a bill until it has received the sanction of the grand jury, which must be by the concurrence of at least twelve of the jurors, attested by oath or affirmation.
- n. In Scots law, a form or process by which a criminal is brought to trial at the instance of the lord advocate. It runs in the name of the lord advocate, and, addressing the panel by name, charges the latter with being guilty of the crime for which he is to be brought to trial.
Wiktionary
- n. an official written accusation on behalf of the government for a serious offence; a document outlining serious charges of an accused.
- n. Accusation.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The act of indicting, or the state of being indicted.
- n. The formal statement of an offense, as framed by the prosecuting authority of the State, and found by the grand jury.
- n. An accusation in general; a formal accusation.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an accusation of wrongdoing
- n. a formal document written for a prosecuting attorney charging a person with some offense
Examples
“Still, the indictment is a blow for the historically troubled department.”
The Washington Post: Prince George's police officer indicted
“The American people must know this critical truth: This indictment is about the cover of the lies which led our republic to fight in Iraq.”
“The truth or falsity of this indictment is an interesting subject for future historical debate.”
“This indictment is at least worth a Sam Alito appointment to the Court.”
Think Progress » BREAKING: Five-count Indictment On I. Lewis Libby
“The word 'indictment' is not one that you take lightly.”
“My point about a grand jury indictment is this at least forces Obama and Holder to present evidence to a neutral group of American citizens before offing the guy.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Opinio Juris Discussions of Targeting of US Citizen
“The real indictment is of the Seattle Times that has repeatedly called Reichert's environmental record 'principled.”
“An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.”
“Editor's note: Let me reiterate: "An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.”
“I wonder if this particular indictment is the first of a series.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘indictment’.
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jwjarvis While as a description of reality this was probably accurate, it fails as an indictment. Sep 14, 2010