Ex parte Bain, 121 U.S. 1 (1887). George M. Bain, Jr. was indicted by a federal criminal grand jury

Grand jury

A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...

 and subsequently convicted for making a false report or statement as cashier of a bank under U.S. Rev. Stat. § 5209. Post conviction, Bain filed a writ of habeas corpus

Habeas corpus

is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...

, which the Supreme Court granted.

Outcome

The Supreme Court granted Bain's motion after he produced evidence proving that the criminal grand jury indictment he was arrested under had been changed and was not resubmitted to the grand jury prior to his arrest. The Court found that even though the changes may have been negligible, federal courts lose jurisdiction to even make that determination once an indictment by a grand jury has been changed and not resubmitted. The grand jury indictment was changed, therefore there was no valid grand jury indictment as required for federal arrests under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...

.

Holding

When an indictment is filed with the court no change can be made in the body of the instrument by order of the court, or by the prosecuting attorney, without a resubmission of the case to the grand jury. Even though a court may deem a change immaterial, it makes no difference. The instrument, as changed, is no longer the indictment of the grand jury which presented it.

Legal significance

The U.S. Supreme Court in Bain set a rigid standard for federal law enforcement officials to follow when obtaining a federal grand jury indictment. The Court sent the message that grand jury indictments, as required per the Fifth Amendment, would be held to a strict standard. In Bain, the Court concluded that any change in a grand jury indictment, no matter how mundane, would require resubmission to the grand jury. In 1985, upon returning to the issue of grand jury indictments in the case of United States v. Miller, the Court decided on a somewhat looser interpretation of the Fifth Amendment requirements as set forth in Bain. Now, modifications to a grand jury indictments, if only to reduce charges, make simple changes, or remove text, are allowed.

Subsequent History

Bain has been overruled in part by United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625 (2002).