Which document formally charges a defendant with a felony?

• A. Arraignment
• B. Indictment
• C. Information
• D. Complaint

Answer: (B)

Indictment is the formal charging document for a felony. It’s issued by a grand jury after evaluating the evidence and deciding there’s probable cause to bring the case to trial, officially naming the charges against the defendant. This is what initiates a felony prosecution in many systems.

Arraignment is simply the defendant’s first court appearance to hear the charges and enter a plea, not the charging document itself. An information is a prosecutorial charging document used in some jurisdictions as an alternative to an indictment, typically when a grand jury isn’t involved. A complaint is an initial, usually lower-level or preliminary, accusation used in other contexts or for misdemeanors.