Commencement of prosecution; filing; sealing; violation
Sec. 1. (a) All prosecutions of crimes shall be brought in the name
of the state of Indiana. Any crime may be charged by indictment or
information.
(b) Except as provided in IC 12-15-23-6(d), all prosecutions of
crimes shall be instituted by the filing of an information or
indictment by the prosecuting attorney, in a court with jurisdiction
over the crime charged.
(c) Whenever an indictment or information is filed, the clerk of
the court shall:
(1) mark the date of filing on the instrument;
(2) record it in a record book; and
(3) upon request, make a copy of it available to the defendant or
his attorney.
(d) The court, upon motion of the prosecuting attorney, may order
that the indictment or information be sealed. If a court has sealed an
indictment or information, no person may disclose the fact that an
indictment or information is in existence or pending until the
defendant has been arrested or otherwise brought within the custody
of the court. However, any person may make any disclosure
necessarily incident to the arrest of the defendant. A violation of this
subsection is punishable as a contempt.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.298, SEC.3. Amended by Acts 1982,
P.L.204, SEC.18; P.L.10-1994, SEC.7.
Last modified: May 24, 2006