Legal Definitions - indictable offense

An indictable offense refers to a serious crime for which formal charges can only be brought after a grand jury has reviewed the evidence. In such cases, prosecutors present their evidence to a grand jury, a group of citizens, who then decide if there is sufficient probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that the accused person committed it. If the grand jury agrees, they issue an "indictment," which is a formal accusation allowing the case to proceed to trial. These offenses are typically felonies, carrying potentially severe penalties like lengthy prison sentences.

• Example 1: A group of individuals is suspected of running a sophisticated scheme to counterfeit high-value consumer goods, distributing millions of dollars worth of fake products nationwide.

  Explanation: This would be considered an indictable offense because of the scale of the operation, the significant financial harm, and the organized nature of the crime. Prosecutors would present evidence to a grand jury to seek an indictment before formal charges could be filed against the alleged counterfeiters, allowing the case to move towards a trial.

• Example 2: An individual is accused of orchestrating a large-scale identity theft operation, compromising the personal information of thousands of people through a data breach and using it to open fraudulent credit accounts.

  Explanation: This serious crime, involving widespread financial fraud and a significant number of victims, would necessitate a grand jury proceeding. The prosecutor would need to convince the grand jury that there is enough evidence to formally charge the individual with an indictable offense before the case could move forward to trial.