![]() ![]() For example, an indictment might identify a defendant as “John Smith a/k/a ‘Johnny’ a/k/a ‘Jon’.” There is no legal requirement for the prosecution to use a defendant’s known aliases. Thus, an indictment can charge a company such as “ACME Corp.” If a defendant has nicknames or aliases, the indictment will frequently include those nicknames or aliases next to the defendant’s legal name. In addition, a defendant can also be a legal entity, such as a corporation. In such instances, the prosecution may use placeholder names such as “John Doe” or “Jane Doe” for some of the defendants. Sometimes, a criminal case may be brought when the name(s) of some of the defendant(s) are still unknown, such as in large criminal conspiracies where not every member of the conspiracy has been identified at the time of indictment. In our example, we see that this is a case by the United States of America against Keith Johnson and Angela Johnson, who are the two defendants.The caption identifies the parties to the action, the case number, and the “counts,” or charges, that are contained in the indictment. Below the court name, we have what is called the “caption” of the case. ![]() In our example, the court is the Alexandria division of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. At the top of the document is the name of the district court where the case is pending.With that said, here we will use an example of an indictment filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, to illustrate the parts of a federal indictment. We wish to remind you that if you have been charged with a crime, you should consult an attorney to understand the charges in your individual case, instead of relying solely on information you find here, or anywhere else on the internet. What are the parts to a federal indictment? An example of a federal indictmentĪlthough the appearance of an indictment may vary from one jurisdiction to the next, there are some commonalities to their structure and content. Later in this article, we will briefly explain the differences between each of these legal documents (also called pleadings). ![]() For certain types of crimes, and under certain conditions, the prosecutor may, instead of an indictment, rely on a “criminal information” or a “criminal complaint” to formally begin the case. In the federal criminal system, the indictment is the principal method by which a prosecutor initiates criminal proceedings.
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