Criminal charge

A criminal charge is a formal allegation made by a governmental authority (usually a public prosecutor or the police) asserting that somebody has committed a crime. This can result in a conviction (guilty), acquittal (not guilty), or the charges being dropped. A charging document, which contains one or more criminal charges or counts, can take several forms, including:

• complaint
• information
• indictment
• traffic ticket

The charging document is what generally starts a criminal case in court. But the procedure by which somebody is charged with a crime and what happens when somebody has been charged varies from country to country and even sometimes within a country.

Before a person is found guilty of a crime, a criminal charge must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.