Information

Information in the United States

An accusation made by a prosecuting attorney before a court. The information is offered under oath and supports the charges with at least probable cause level evidence. The information is used in almost every state for misdemeanors, but more than half the states have also substituted the information for grand jury indictment even for serious crimes. An information is almost identical to a complaint except it is signed by the prosecutor instead of a police officer or the victim. The federal government, though required to use grand juries for serious crimes by provision of the Fifth Amendment, has begun using the information for less serious crimes.

See Also

Complaint (Criminal Process) Indictment (Criminal Process) Preliminary Hearing (Criminal Process).

Analysis and Relevance

The information is designed to determine if sufficient evidence exists to bind a defendant over for trial. The information places final determination of whether probable cause exists in the hands of a judicial officer rather than a grand jury. The Supreme Court ruled in Hurtado v. California (110 U.S. 516: 1884) that states could use the information without violating the Fourteenth Amendment. The Hurtado ruling still stands. Indeed, the pattern has been that most states have substituted the information for grand jury proceedings for some, if not all, criminal offenses. While protecting the accused from being taken to trial arbitrarily, the information is also much more cost-efficient than the grand jury.

Notes and References

  1. Definition of Information from the American Law Dictionary, 1991, California

Information Definition

The communication of material facts for the first time. 4 M. & W. 24. In French Law. The act or instrument which contains the depositions of witnesses against the accused. Poth. Proc. Civ. § 2, art. 5. In Practice. A criminal information is an accusation or a complaint exhibited against a person for some criminal offense. It differs principally from an indictment in this, that an indictment is found upon the oath of twelve men and an information is only the allegation of the officer who exhibits it. 4 Bl. Comm. 308. It is a prosecution originating with an officer, but may originate with a private citizen, but its object is, not compensation to the informer, but solely the public advantage. 67 Mo. 379. Informations “are of two sorts; first, those which are partly at the suit of the king and partly at that of a subject; and secondly, such as are only in the name of the king.” And the last “are of two kinds; first those which are tijuly and properly his own suits, and filed ex officio by his own officer, the Attorney-General; and secondly, those in which, though the King is the nominal prosecutor, yet it is at the relation of some private person or common informer. 12 Conn. 452. Criminal Informations are analogous to declarations for the redress of a personal injury, except that the latter are at the suit of a subject for the satisfaction of a private wrong, and the former are in the name of the King, for the punishment of offences affecting the interests of the public. 20 N. H. 296. The process has not been formally put in motion by congress for misdemeanors, but is common in civil- prosecutions for penalties and forfeitures. 3 Story, Const. 659. The information is usually made upon knowledge given by some other person than the officer, called the “relator.” The term is also applied to the pleadmg by which proceedings by the government, particularly those of a quasi criminal character, are begun.

Information in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias

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Information Information in the World Legal Encyclopedia.
Information Information in the European Legal Encyclopedia.
Information Information in the Asian Legal Encyclopedia.
Information Information in the UK Legal Encyclopedia.
Information Information in the Australian Legal Encyclopedia.

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Information Information in the Family Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the IP Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Commercial Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Criminal Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Antritrust Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Bankruptcy Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Constitutional Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Tax Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the and Finance and Banking Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Employment and Labor Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Personal Injury and Tort Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Information Information in the Environmental Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.

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Information in the Dictionaries Information in our legal dictionaries
http://lawi.us/information The URI of Information (more about URIs)
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Legal Issue for Attorneys

The communication of material facts for the first time. 4 M. & W. 24. In French Law. The act or instrument which contains the depositions of witnesses against the accused. Poth. Proc. Civ. § 2, art. 5. In Practice. A criminal information is an accusation or
a complaint exhibited against a person for some criminal offense. It differs principally from an indictment in this, that an indictment is found upon the oath of twelve men and an information is only the allegation of the officer who exhibits it. 4 Bl. Comm. 308. It is a prosecution originating with an officer, but may originate with a private citizen, but its object is, not compensation to the informer, but solely the public advantage. 67 Mo. 379. Informations “are of two sorts; first, those which are partly at the suit of the king and partly at that of a subject; and secondly, such as are only in the name of the king.” And the last “are of two kinds; first those which are tijuly and properly his own suits, and filed ex officio by his own officer, the Attorney-General; and secondly, those in which, though the King is the nominal prosecutor, yet it is at the relation of some private person or common informer. 12 Conn. 452. Criminal Informations are analogous to declarations for the redress of a personal injury, except that the latter are at the suit of a subject for the satisfaction of a private wrong, and the former are in the name of the King, for the punishment of offences affecting the interests of the public. 20 N. H. 296. The process has not been formally put in motion by congress for misdemeanors, but is common in civil- prosecutions for penalties and forfeitures. 3 Story, Const. 659. The information is usually made upon knowledge given by some other person than the officer, called the “relator.” The term is also applied to the pleadmg by which proceedings by the government, particularly those of a quasi criminal character, are begun.

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Notice

This definition of Information Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This definition needs to be proofread..

Information

United States Constitution

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, about its article titled 698 INFORMATIONAn information is a formal written accusation against a person for a criminal offense presented under oath by a public officer, usually a prosecutor. An information is used to charge an individual with criminal activity in cases where an indictment by a grand jury is unnecessary or is
(read more about Constitutional law entries here).

Some Constitutional Law Popular Entries

Resources

See Also

  • Legal Topics.
  • Information Technology; Information Theory

    indictment.

    Further Reading (Books)

    leff, harvey s., and rex, andrew f. maxwell’s demon: entropy, information, computing. bristol, uk: adam hilger, 1990.

    puddefoot, john c. “information and creation.” in the science and theology of information: proceedings of the third european conference on science and theology, ed. christoff wassermann, richard kirby, and bernard rordorff. geneva, switzerland: labor et fides, 1992.

    puddefoot, john c. “information theory, biology, and christology.” in religion and science: history, method, dialogue, eds. w. mark richardson and wesley j. wildman. new york and london: routledge, 1996.

    rényi, alfréd. a diary on information theory. new york: wiley, 1984.

    shannon, claude e. “a mathematical theory of communication.” the bell system technical journal 27 (1948): 379-423, 623-656.

    singh, simon. the code book: the science of secrecy from ancient egypt to quantum cryptography. london: fourth estate, 1999.

    john c. puddefoot

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    Foia in the context of Real Estate

    Resurces

    See Also

    • Freedom Of Information Act

    Information Meaning in Law Enforcement

    The written formal charge of crime by the United States Attorney, filed against an accused who, if charged with a serious crime, must have knowingly waived the requirements that the evidence first be presented to a grand jury.

    Information Definition in the context of the Federal Court System

    A formal accusation by a government attorney that the defendant committed a misdemeanor. An information may also be used in a felony case if the defendant formally waives his or her right to a grand jury indictment. See also “indictment.”

    Information in the International Business Landscape

    Definition of Information in the context of U.S. international business and public trade policy: Data in a form that is of value to a manager.

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