accusation

An accusation is informally stating that a person has committed an illegal or immoral act.  An accusation is also formally charging a person with a crime either by a prosecuting attorney filing charges against or through a grand jury indictment of that person.

See, e.g. Rothgery v. Gillespie County, Tex., 554 U.S. 191 (2008) and U.S. v. Patterson, 150 U.S. 65 (1893) .

[Last reviewed in February of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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