Legal Definition and Related Resources of Presentment

In Criminal Practice. The written notice taken by a grand jury of any offense, from their own knowledge or observation, without any bill of indictment laid before them at the suit of the government. 4 Bl. Comm. 301; 109 Gal. 448; 183 Mich. 207. Upon such presentment, when proper, the officer employed to prosecute afterwards frames a bill of indictment, which is then sent to the grand jury, and they find it to be a true bill. In an extended sense, presentments include not only what are properly so called, but also inquisitions of office and indictments found by a grand jury. 2 Hawk. P. C. c. 25, § 1. The difference between a presentment and an inquisition is this: that the former is found by a grand jury authorized to inquire of offenses generally, whereas the latter is an accusation found by a jury specially returned to inquire concerning a particular offense. 2 Hawk. P. C. c. 25, § 6. See, generally, Comyn, Dig. Indictment (B) ; Bac. Abr. Indictment (A) ; 1 Chit. Crim. Law, 163; 7 East, 387; 1 Meigs (Tenn.) 112; 11 Humph. (Tenn.) The chief distinctipn between an indictment and a presentment at common law was that the former was made at the suggestion of the crown, while the latter was made upon the knowledge of one or more of the jurors, and instead of being indorsed a true bill by the foreman alone, was signed by all of the jurors. The writing which contains the accusation so presented by a grand jury. 1 Brock. In Contracts. The production of a bill of exchange or promissory note to the party on whom the former is drawn, for his acceptance, or to the person bound to pay either, for payment

United States Constitutional Meaning of Presentment

A formal report of a grand jury charging a person with a criminal offense; a presentment differs from an indictment in that the former is prepared on the grand jury’s own initiative while the latter is initiated by the public prosecutor. Reports of the results of grand jury investigations are often referred to as “presentments” even when they do not contain criminal charges.

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This definition of Presentment is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

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Presentment in the law of the United States

Presentment: Related U.S. Resources

• Presentment in the American Law Encyclopedia
• Criminal Judicial Process Keywords in the U.S. Legal Corpus
• Criminal Process Topics in the United States Legal Dictionary

See Also

Grand Jury (in the U.S. Legal Encyclopedia) Indictment (in the U.S. Legal Encyclopedia).

Resources

See Also

Presentment in Law Enforcement

Main Entry: Law Enforcement in the Legal Dictionary. This section provides, in the context of Law Enforcement, a partial definition of presentment.

Resources

See Also

• Law Enforcement Officer
• Police
• Law Enforcement Agency

Further Reading

• presentment in A Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford University Press)
• presentment in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement
• A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

Meaning of Presentment in the U.S. Legal System

Definition of Presentment published by the National Association for Court Management: Declaration or document issued by a grand jury that either makes a neutral report or notes misdeeds by officials charged with specified public duties. It ordinarily does not include a formal charge of crime. A presentment differs from an indictment.

Presentment (Criminal Judicial Process)

Presentment

Presentment

Presentment