(a) Use of Indictment and Information. An offense which may be punished by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year shall be prosecuted by indictment, unless indictment is waived. Any other offense may be prosecuted by indictment or information. Any information may be filed without leave of court.
(b) Waiver of Indictment. An offense which may be punished by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year may be prosecuted by information if the defendant, after having been advised of the nature of the charge and of the defendant’s rights, waives in open court prosecution by indictment.
(c) Nature and Contents—Defects of Form Do Not Invalidate.
(1) The indictment or the information shall be a plain, concise and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. It shall be signed by the prosecuting attorney. It need not contain a formal commencement, a formal conclusion or any other matter not necessary to such statement. Allegations made in one count may be incorporated by reference in another count. It may be alleged in a single count that the means by which the defendant committed the offense are unknown or that the defendant committed it by one or more specified means.
(2) An indictment or information must include:
(A) the defendant and offense information required by Criminal Rule 3(c);
(B) search warrant information as required by Criminal Rule 37(e)(2);
(C) the victim information certificate required by Criminal Rule 44(f); and
(D) if the defendant is charged with an offense listed in AS 18.66.990, whether the prosecution claims that the alleged offense is a crime involving domestic violence as defined in AS 18.66.990(3) and (5).
(3) The defendant’s social security number may not appear on an indictment or information. This subsection applies to an indictment or information filed on or after October 15, 2006.
(4) Error in a citation or omission of a citation to the statute, regulation, or ordinance that the defendant is alleged to have violated shall not be ground for dismissal of the indictment or information or for reversal of a conviction if the error or omission did not mislead the defendant to the defendant’s prejudice. No indictment is insufficient nor can the trial, judgment or other proceedings thereon be affected, by reason of a defect or imperfection in matter of form in the indictment which does not tend to prejudice the substantial rights of the defendant.
(5) When an indictment is found, the names of all witnesses examined before the grand jury must be inserted at the foot of the indictment, or endorsed thereon, before it is presented to the court.
(d) Surplusage. The court, on motion of the defendant, may strike surplusage from the indictment or information.
(e) Amendment of Indictment or Information. The court may permit an indictment or information to be amended at any time before verdict or finding if no additional or different offense is charged and the substantial rights of the defendant are not prejudiced.
(f) Bill of Particulars. The court may direct the filing of a bill of particulars. A motion for a bill of particulars may be made before arraignment or within ten days after arraignment or at such later time as the court may permit. A bill of particulars may be amended at any time subject to such conditions as justice requires.
(Adopted by SCO 4 October 4, 1959; amended by SCO 98 effective September 16, 1968; amended by SCO 483 effective November 2, 1981; by SCO 1153 effective July 15, 1994; by SCO 1289 effective January 15, 1998; by SCO 1304 effective January 15, 1998; by SCO 1587 effective December 15, 2005; and by SCO 1614 effective October 15, 2006)
Note: SCO 906 incorporated changes in Criminal Rule 8(a) made by the legislature in ch. 66, §§ 8 and 9. SLA 1988. The legislation added the language in subparagraph (a)(1), “and it can be determined before trial that it is likely that evidence of one charged offense would be admissible to prove another charged offense.”
Note: SCO 906 is amended by adding a new paragraph 3 which provides: “3. This order is made for the sole reason that the legislature has mandated the above amendments. If the act mandating these amendments is invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, this order shall be considered automatically rescinded.” This amendment is effective retroactively to May 28, 1988.
Note: Paragraph (b) was amended by ch. 79, § 2, SLA 1991.
Cross References (a) CROSS REFERENCE: AS 12.80.020
(b) CROSS REFERENCE: AS 12.80.020
(c) CROSS REFERENCE: AS 12.40.100
