Odger's English Common Law

132 DIFFERENT KINDS OF CRIMES AND CRIMINALS.
"We will, therefore, in the first instance divide crimes into
two classes :
—
(i.) Indictable offences.
(ii.) Non-indictable offences.
Many indictable offences may now be either tried by a
jury on an indictment or, at the option of the prisoner and
with the consent of the magistrate, be disposed of summarily-
The^etails of these two methods of procedure will be found discussed in
Book V. under the head of Adjective Law. It is sufficient to state here
that an indictment is a written document which charges the person named
in it with the commission' of a definite crime ;
it is prepared with the object
of its being "presented" to the Court in which it is proposed to try that
person for that crime. But no one can now be called upon to enter the
dock and plead to an indictment, unless either he has been committed by
justices of the peace to take his trial in that Court, or the consent or
direction in writing of a judge of the High Court or of the Attorney-
General or Solicitor-General to the presentment of the indictment has been
given. 1
If either course has been taken, the prisoner is arraigned and, if
he pleads "Not guilty," is tried by a jury. Only the jury can find an
accused person guilty on the trial of an indictment. When the offence is
triable summarily, no indictment is prepared and the accused is either
convicted or discharged by the magistrates themselves.
Indictable offences are of three kinds :
(i.) Treasons.
(ii.) Felonies.
(iii.) Misdemeanours.
Treason is a specific offence defined by four statutes. 2
consists in levying war against the King, helping his enemies,
compassing his death or imprisonment, &c. For treason the
punishment is death. By the statute 11 Vict. c. 12, many
treasons were declared to be also felonies; and for such
"treason-felonies" the maximum penalty is penal servitude
for life.
No logical definition is possible of either a felony or a mis-
demeanour. The word " felony " was originally used to
describe those offences which were punishable at common
law by the total forfeiture of the felon's lands, or goods, or
both. But a great many other offences have been declared
by statute to be felonies; and a conviction for felony no
1 Grand Juries (Suspension) Act, 1917 (7 Geo. V. c. 4), b. 1 (2).
2 25 Edw. III. c. 2 ; 1 Anne, st. 2, o. 21 ; 6 Anne, o. 41 ; 36 Geo. III. o. 7.
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