Amending Indictment or Information

The court may permit an indictment or information to be amended upon the application of the prosecuting attorney at any time before verdict or finding if no additional [or] different offense is charged and if substantial rights of the defendant are not prejudiced. COURT DECISIONS: SUPER.CT. 1982 The court is convinced that there is a typographical error in this Section reading Ano additional different offense@ and that the correct reading should be, and will be interpreted by the court to be Ano additional or different offense.@ People v. Cruz, Cr. #94F-80. SUPER.CT. 1982 AThe modern trend seems to be away from the strict standards imposed on indictments and common law.@ The subject matter of this motion is an information and the amendment requested by the people would not work a prejudice to the defendant. People v. Cruz, Cr. #94F-80. Section 55.20 is sufficiently broad to permit the people to amend the information to include the word Aintentionally@ within an indictment for the offense of kidnapping. People v. Atalig, Cr. #97F-81. D.C.GUAM: APP.DIV. 1983 Amendments to the indictments should have been allowed, which amendment alleged and overt act occurring in 1978, because such amendment would not charge Aan additional or different offense@ and the substantial rights of the defendant were not prejudiced. The amendment would not affect the nature of the crime charged, nor the defendants' defense to these charges. The fact that the defendant may require discovery is a poor reason not to allow an amendment which would cure a supposed defect in the indictment. People v. Manibusan, D.C. Cr. #81-0053A. NOTE: Section 55.20 is substantively similar to former Rule 7(f) and former § 682(e) but also allows amendment of an indictment. See also Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(e). See generally 8 Moore, Federal Practice 7.05 (1974); B. Witkin, California Criminal Procedure Proceedings Before Trial §§ 210-214 (1963, Supp. 1973).