I had a law professor tell us repeatedly you could indict a ham sandwich. The reason being it means you could have committed a crime. Like it’s possible you did. It doesn’t mean you did or that there is great witnesses or evidence or that a trial will happen necessarily. It just means there is enough for a reasonable person to think you could have committed a crime. That’s why afterwards a trial usually will be presented if the DA can come up with charges based on what he/she thinks is suitable evidence to get a guilt verdict or to get the suspect to plea, Which is the usual outcome.
Bbbmonsta t1_jed8jfd wrote
Reply to eli5 What does “indicted” mean? by jcw10489
I had a law professor tell us repeatedly you could indict a ham sandwich. The reason being it means you could have committed a crime. Like it’s possible you did. It doesn’t mean you did or that there is great witnesses or evidence or that a trial will happen necessarily. It just means there is enough for a reasonable person to think you could have committed a crime. That’s why afterwards a trial usually will be presented if the DA can come up with charges based on what he/she thinks is suitable evidence to get a guilt verdict or to get the suspect to plea, Which is the usual outcome.