Essentially, the difference between the two depends upon who has filed charges against you. If you have been charged, this means a state or federal prosecutor filed charges against you. If you have been indicted, this means
a grand jury has filed charges against you
.
Does being indicted mean you go to jail?
After a grand jury indicts someone, it returns the indictment to the court and the criminal case begins. If the suspect (now-defendant) isn't already in custody (jail), the defendant may be
arrested
or summoned to appear before the court for preliminary hearings.
Is a charge the same as an indictment?
A charge is brought against someone by a prosecutor. But in an indictment, a grand jury brings the charges against the defendant. All indictments are charges, but not all charges are indictments.
Does an indictment mean you are guilty?
The media often relays this information in a way that makes it sound as if the person indicted is guilty of committing a crime. … All that an indictment really means is that
a grand jury has decided that there is probable cause to charge someone with committing a crime.
What does it mean to be indicted but not convicted?
While an indictment means you have been formally charged with a crime in Utah, a conviction means you have been found guilty of committing the crime. Once the indictment has established there is enough evidence to charge you with a crime, your case proceeds to a criminal trial.
How serious is an indictment?
A federal criminal indictment is
a serious matter
, because it means that the criminal investigation has progressed to a point where the prosecutor now believes that he or she has enough evidence to convict.
Can you beat an indictment?
Dismissal
. Most clients ask their lawyers to “get rid of the indictment.” This means that they want their lawyers to dismiss the case. … This means that a judge cannot simply overturn the decision of the grand jurors who authorized the indictment.
What happens after you get indicted?
Arraignment —
After an Indictment or Information has been filed and arrest has been made, an Arraignment must take place before a Magistrate Judge. During an Arraignment, the accused, now called the defendant, is read the charges against him or her and advised of his or her rights.
Can you be indicted without evidence?
The straight answer
is “no”
. You cannot be charged and eventually convicted if there are no evidence against you. If you happen to be arrested, detained, and charged then there is most likely a probable cause or a physical evidence that points towards you.
How do I know if I've been indicted?
Call the District Clerk's Office
.
Find the county where the offense occurred
. Call the district clerk's office or court's office for that county and ask for the next court date for the defendant. If the case has not been presented to a grand jury, the clerk may be able to tell you when the next setting is.
Why would you seal an indictment?
An indictment that the court seals means that an indictment is kept secret from the public eye until a specified time. A sealed indictment implies that no individual can disclose the existence or contents of the indictment. …
Protecting the rights of the accused
is primary reason for an indictment.
How long after indictment is trial?
By Federal law, once an indictment is filed and the defendant is aware of it, the case must proceed to trial
within 70 days
.
What is an example of an indictment?
Examples of indictment in a Sentence
The grand jury has handed down indictments against several mobsters. No one was surprised by her indictment. She intended the film to be an indictment of the media.
How do you get a secret indictment?
Grand juries issue secret indictments after determining that there is enough evidence for a case to go to trial. A secret indictment is an indictment that is not made public until
the subject of the indictment has been arrested, notified, or released pending trial
.
What happens if you are charged but not convicted?
Because the court has not recorded a conviction,
you are not given a criminal record
, even though found guilty. For traffic offences, that means that you keep your driver's licence. This can often be one of the best results in court when a defendant is clearly guilty.
Can you plea bargain after indictment?
After a grand jury indictment, a defendant has the opportunity to enter a plea. … It is still possible, though, to arrange a plea bargain
after a guilty plea
, and all the way until a verdict is reached at trial.
