sealed indictment
Hidden criminal accusation
A sealed indictment is a formal criminal charge that a grand jury has issued but that remains secret until a court orders it unsealed.
The secrecy prevents the accused from fleeing, destroying evidence, or intimidating witnesses before arrest.
Prosecutors often use sealed indictments in cases involving flight risks or ongoing investigations: The sealed indictment was unsealed the day of his arrest.
- grand juryInvestigative charging body
- secretConcealed information
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- criminal chargesFormal accusations of lawbreaking
- legal proceedingsFormal court-based dispute resolution
charges · federal · court · court order · criminal · warrant · subpoena · investigation · evidence · defendant · plea deal · prosecutor · special counsel · judge · filing · witness · testimony · conspiracy
- criminal chargesarson, burglary, homicide, kidnapping, robbery
- prosecutionprosecutor, district attorney, DA, prosecution, public prosecutors
- investigationsinvestigation report, audit, investigation, review, FBI investigation
sealed indictmentpublic disclosure
Revealing information openly
public trial · open court · full disclosure · press release · public announcement
sealed indictmentpublic record
Officially accessible government information
sealed, indictment, seal, sealing, unsealed, sealant, indict, indicts, indicting