Information (formal Criminal Charge)
An information is a formal criminal charge made by a prosecutor, without the necessity of obtaining a grand jury indictment.
The term is used in Canada and various other common law jurisdictions, including a number of U.S. states.
The information is one of the oldest common law pleadings (first appearing around the 13th century), and is nearly as old as the better-known indictment, with which it has always coexisted.
Read more about Information (formal Criminal Charge): Canada, United States
Famous quotes containing the words information and/or criminal:
“So while it is true that children are exposed to more information and a greater variety of experiences than were children of the past, it does not follow that they automatically become more sophisticated. We always know much more than we understand, and with the torrent of information to which young people are exposed, the gap between knowing and understanding, between experience and learning, has become even greater than it was in the past.”
—David Elkind (20th century)
“It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)