Title 19 — CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

19-1401. Indictment, how found. An indictment cannot be found without the concurrence of at least twelve (12) grand jurors. When so found it must be endorsed, a true bill, and the endorsement must be signed by the foreman of the grand jury.

19-1402. Failure to find indictment — Return of depositions. If twelve (12) grand jurors do not concur in finding an indictment against a defendant who has been held to answer, the depositions, if any, transmitted to them must be returned to the court, with an indorsement thereon…

19-1403. Resubmission of charge after dismissal. The dismissal of the charge does not prevent its resubmission to a grand jury as often as the court may direct, but without such direction it cannot be resubmitted.

19-1404. Endorsement of names of witnesses. When an indictment is found, the names of the witnesses examined before the grand jury, or whose depositions may have been read before them, must be inserted at the foot of the indictment, or endorsed thereon, before it is presented to …

19-1405. Presentment and filing of indictment. An indictment, when found by the grand jury, must be presented by their foreman, in their presence, to the court, and must be filed with the clerk.

19-1406. Indictment of defendant not in custody. When an indictment is found against a defendant not in custody, the same proceedings must be had as are described by sections 19-1501 to 19-1516, against a defendant who fails to appear for arraignment.

19-1407. Rules of pleading. All the forms of pleading in criminal actions, and the rules by which the sufficiency of pleadings is to be determined, are those prescribed by this code.

19-1408. First pleading is indictment. The first pleading on the part of the people is the indictment.

19-1409. Requirements of indictment. The indictment must contain: 1. The title of the action, specifying the name of the court to which the indictment is presented, and the names of the parties. 2. A statement of the acts constituting the offense in ordinary and concise language,…

19-1410. Form of indictment. It may be substantially in the following form: The state of Idaho against A.B., in the district court of the …. judicial district, in the county of ….. …. term, ….. A.B. is accused by the grand jury of the county of …. by this indictment, of the crime…

19-1411. Certainty required of indictment. It must be direct and certain as it regards: 1. The party charged. 2. The offense charged. 3. The particular circumstances of the offense charged, when they are necessary to constitute a complete offense.

19-1412. Indictment by fictitious name. When a defendant is indicted by a fictitious or erroneous name, and in any stage of the proceedings his true name is discovered, it must be inserted in the subsequent proceedings, referring to the fact of his being indicted by the name ment…

19-1414. Allegation as to time. The precise time at which the offense was committed need not be stated in the indictment; but it may be alleged to have been committed at any time before the finding thereof, except where the time is a material ingredient in the offense.

19-1415. Erroneous designation of person injured. When an offense involves the commission of, or an attempt to commit, a private injury, and is described with sufficient certainty in other respects to identify the act, an erroneous allegation as to the person injured, or intended…

19-1416. Construction of words. The words used in an indictment are construed in their usual acceptance in common language, except such words and phrases as are defined by law, which are construed according to their legal meaning.

19-1417. Words of statute. Words used in a statute to define a public offense need not be strictly pursued in the indictment; but other words conveying the same meaning may be used.

19-1418. Sufficiency of indictment. The indictment is sufficient if it can be understood therefrom: 1. That it is entitled in a court having authority to receive it, though the name of the court be not stated. 2. That it was found by a grand jury of the county in which the court …

19-1419. Defects of form. No indictment is insufficient, nor can the trial, judgment, or other proceeding thereon, be affected, by reason of any defect or imperfection in matter of form, which does not tend to the prejudice of a substantial right of the defendant upon its merits.

19-1420. Amendment of indictment. An indictment or information may be amended by the prosecuting attorney without leave of the court, at any time before the defendant pleads, and at any time thereafter, in the discretion of the court, where it can be done without prejudice to the…

19-1421. Presumptions and facts judicially noticed. Neither presumptions of law nor matters of which judicial notice is taken, need be stated in an indictment.

19-1422. Pleading judgments. In pleading a judgment or other determination of, or proceeding before, a court or officer of special jurisdiction, it is not necessary to state the facts constituting jurisdiction; but the judgment or determination may be stated as given or made, or …

19-1423. Pleading private statutes. In pleading a private statute, or a right derived therefrom, it is sufficient to refer to the statute by its title and the day of its passage, and the court must thereupon take judicial notice thereof.

19-1424. Indictment for libel. An indictment for libel need not set forth any extrinsic facts for the purpose of showing the application to the party libeled, or of the defamatory matter on which the indictment is founded; but it is sufficient to state generally that the same was…

19-1425. Misdescription of forged instrument. When an instrument which is the subject of an indictment for forgery has been destroyed or withheld by the act or the procurement of the defendant, and the fact of such destruction or withholding is alleged in the indictment and estab…

19-1426. Indictment for perjury. In an indictment for perjury, or subornation of perjury, it is sufficient to set forth the substance of the controversy or matter in respect to which the offense was committed, and in what court and before whom the oath alleged to be false was tak…

19-1427. Indictment for larceny or embezzlement. In an indictment for the larceny or embezzlement of money, bank notes, certificates of stock, or valuable securities, or for a conspiracy to cheat or defraud a person of any such property, it is sufficient to allege the larceny or …

19-1428. Indictment for selling obscene books. An indictment for exhibiting, publishing, passing, selling, or offering to sell, or having in possession, with such intent, any lewd or obscene book, pamphlet, picture, print, card, paper, or writing, need not set forth any portion o…

19-1429. Conviction or acquittal of several defendants. Upon an indictment against several defendants, any one or more may be convicted or acquitted.

19-1430. Distinction between accessories and principals abolished. The distinction between an accessory before the fact and a principal and between principals in the first and second degree, in cases of felony, is abrogated; and all persons concerned in the commission of a felony…

19-1431. Trial of accessories without principal. An accessory to the commission of a felony may be indicted, tried, and punished, though the principal may be neither indicted nor tried.

19-1432. Charging two or more offenses in same indictment. Two (2) or more offenses may be charged in the same indictment or information in a separate count for each offense if the offenses charged, whether felonies or misdemeanors or both, are of the same or similar character or…

19-1433. Unnecessary to negate statutory defenses in certain cases. In any complaint, information, or indictment, and in any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of any of the provisions of chapters 22, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, or 33, title 37, Idaho Code, it shall…