Indictment

In the common law legal system, an indictment is a formal charge of having committed a serious criminal offense. In those jurisdictions which retain the concept of a felony, the serious crime offence would be a felony; those jurisdictions which have abolished the concept of a felony often substitute instead the concept of an indictable offence, i.e. an offence which requires an indictment. Traditionally an indictment was handed down by a grand jury, but most common law jurisdictions (with the exception of those in the United States) have abolished grand juries. Where grand juries have been abolished, indictments are issued by a magistrate instead.

Indictable offences are normally tried by jury, unless the accused waves the right to a jury trial. The accused is not normally in common law systems entitled to a jury trial if the offence with which they have been charged does not require an indictment; the main exception here is that jurisdictions in the United States grant the right to a jury trial for most criminal offences.

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