The Indictment And The Information

(a) When Used. (1) Felony. All felony prosecutions in the district court must be by indictment after grand jury inquiry or by information. (2) Misdemeanor. All misdemeanor and other prosecutions in the district court, including appeals, must be by indictment, information, or complaint. (b) Waiver of Indictment. [Intentionally omitted]. (c) Nature and Contents. (1) In General. The indictment or the information must name or otherwise identify the defendant, and must be a plain, concise, and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the elements of the offense charged. It must be signed by the prosecuting attorney. Except for appeals from municipal court and municipal ordinance cases transferred under N.D.C.C. § 40-18.1-23, all prosecutions must be carried on in the name and by the authority of the State of North Dakota and must conclude "against the peace and dignity of the State of North Dakota." Except as required by this rule, the indictment or information need not contain a formal commencement, a formal conclusion, or any other matter not necessary to the statement. A count may incorporate by reference an allegation made in another count. A count may allege that the means by which the defendant committed the offense are unknown or that the defendant committed it by one or more specific means. For each count, the indictment or information must give the official or customary citation of the statute, rule, regulation, or other provision of law which the defendant is alleged to have violated. (2) Citation Error. Unless the defendant was prejudicially misled, neither an error in the citation nor its omission is a ground to dismiss the indictment or information or to reverse a conviction. (d) Surplusage. On motion of either party or on its own motion, the court may strike surplusage from the information or indictment. (e) Amending an Information. Unless an additional or different offense is charged or a substantial right of the defendant is prejudiced, the court may permit an information to be amended at any time before the verdict or finding. If the prosecuting attorney chooses not to pursue a charge contained in the initial information, a dismissal of that charge must be stated in the amended information. (f) Bill of Particulars. The court may direct the filing of a bill of particulars. The defendant may move for a bill of particulars before arraignment or within one day after arraignment or at a later time if the court permits. The motion must be in writing and must specify the particulars sought by the defendant. A bill of particulars must be granted if the court finds it necessary to protect the defendant against a second prosecution for the same offense or to enable the defendant to adequately prepare for trial. A bill of particulars may be amended at any time subject to such conditions as justice requires. (g) Names of Witnesses to Be Endorsed on Indictment or Information. When an indictment or information is filed, the names of all the witnesses on whose evidence the indictment or information was based must be endorsed on it before it is presented. The prosecuting attorney, at a time the court prescribes by rule or otherwise, must endorse on the indictment or information the names of other witnesses the prosecuting attorney proposes to call. A failure to endorse those names does not affect the validity or sufficiency of the indictment or information, but the court in which the indictment or information was filed must direct the names of those witnesses to be endorsed on application of the defendant. The court may not allow a continuance because of the failure to endorse any of those names unless the application was made at the earliest opportunity and then only if a continuance is necessary in the name of justice.