Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Re: sealed inditement

Your question seems to ask how an indictment is obtained. The DA empanels a grand jury, in secret, then presents evidence; the DA may not even notify the accused about the proceeding.

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Re: sealed inditement

In New York you have an absolute right to testify before the grand jury if you are the subject of the grand jury criminal investigation. Failure to give you notice of the grand jury presentation may be grounds for dismissing the indictment.

Re: sealed inditement

An indictment is an accusatory instrument. It is a legal document, referred to as a "bill" that expresses the crimes that at defendant is charged with. An indictment results from a grand jury proceeding in which the grand jury has heard evidence and voted to hold the accused for trial. That is why witnesses are called to testify before a grand jury and evidence is presented for them to decide if there is sufficient reason to charge someone with a felony crime.

An "accusatory instrument" means an indictment. An indictment that has been ordered reduced by the court pursuant to law is an information, a simplified information, a prosecutor's information, a superior court information, a misdemeanor complaint or a felony complaint. Every accusatory instrument, regardless of the person designated therein as accuser, constitutes an accusation on behalf of the state as plaintiff and must be entitled "the people of the state of New York" against a designated person, known as the defendant.

A sealed indictment is an indictment or "true bill" which is kept secret because an investigation is still ongoing or law enforcement is still in the process of apprehending defendants that have been indicted. The indictment is sealed to keep things quiet until law enforcement has all the evidence, witnesses or defendants they are seeking.