Rule 23 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.01 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Form of

(a) The indictment or information shall be in writing, signed by the prosecuting attorney, and filed in the court having jurisdiction of the offense. The indictment shall also be signed by the foreperson of the grand jury.

(b) The indictment or information shall:

(1) State the name of the defendant or, if not known, designate the defendant by any name or description by which the defendant can be identified with reasonable certainty;

(2) State plainly, concisely, and definitely the essential facts constituting the elements of the offense charged, including facts necessary for any enhanced punishment;

(3) State the date and place of the offense charged as definitely as can be done. If multiple counts charge the same offense on the same date or during the same time period, additional facts or details to distinguish the counts shall be stated;

(4) Cite the statute alleged to have been violated and the statutes that fix the penalty or punishment therefor; and

(5) State the name and degree, if any, of the offense charged.

All indictments or informations that are substantially consistent with the forms of indictments or informations that have been approved by this Court shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this Rule 23.01(b).

(c) The name of the defendant, if known, shall appear in the caption of an indictment or information, and thereafter the word "defendant" wherever used in the indictment or information shall refer to the defendant named in the caption.

(d) Allegations made in one count of an indictment or information may be incorporated by reference in another count.

(e) The names of all material witnesses for the prosecution shall be listed except rebuttal witnesses and witnesses who will appear upon the trial for the production or identification of public records. Additional witnesses may be listed at any time after notice to the defendant upon order of the court.

(f) A copy of a document may be attached to, and incorporated in, an indictment or information by reference.

Committee Note – 1979

The source of paragraph (a) is prior Rule 24.16. There is a change in that the rule allows the prosecuting attorney to simply sign an information rather than requiring verification. Compare: Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(c)(1).

Paragraph (b) is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.01(a). Compare: Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(c)(1).

Paragraph (c) is new.

Paragraph (d) is the same as the last sentence of prior Rule 24.01(a). Compare: Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(c)(1).

Paragraph (e) is the same as prior Rule 24.01(b).

Paragraph (f) is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.17.

Paragraph (g) is new.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.02 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Manner of Pleading Certain Matters

(a) Venue. An indictment or information may allege the venue of the offense charged by stating the name of the county or other jurisdiction in the caption.

(b) Joint Ownership. An indictment or information charging that an offense has been committed affecting property belonging to more than one owner may allege that such property belongs to any one or more of them.

(c) Describing Instruments or Property and the Value Thereof. An indictment or information charging an offense against, or involving, any instrument or property may describe the instrument or property by the name or designation by which it is usually known, and the value thereof need not be alleged unless such allegation is necessary to charge the offense.

(d) Describing Instruments or Plates. An indictment or information charging an unlawful engraving or the making of any material upon which the whole or any part of any instrument is engraved or printed may describe the instrument, plate, paper, or other material by the name or designation by which it is usually known.

(e) Describing Money or Notes. An indictment or information making an allegation as to any money or note issued by any bank or under any law of the United States may describe such money or note as "money" without specifying any particular money or note.

(f) Intent to Injure, Cheat, or Defraud. An indictment or information charging an offense, a necessary element of which is an intent to injure, cheat, or defraud, may allege that the defendant did an act with such an intent without naming the particular person or persons intended to be injured, cheated, or defrauded.

(g) Principal and Aider Liability. An indictment or information need not allege whether the defendant is being charged as a principal or as an accessory.

(h) Alternative Counts. An indictment or information charging different offenses in the alternative shall state that the offense charged in the later count is charged in the alternative to the offense charged in the specified earlier count.


Committee Note – 1979

Paragraph (a) is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.07.

Paragraph (b) is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.06.

Paragraph (c) is substantially the same as the first sentence of prior Rule 24.08.

Paragraph (d) is substantially the same as the second sentence of prior Rule 24.08.

The source of paragraph (e) is prior Rule 24.09.

The source of paragraph (f) is Section 545.170, RSMo 1978.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.03 | Felonies – Information – Time for Filing

An information charging a felony shall be filed not later than ten days after the date of the order requiring the defendant to answer to the charge. The court having jurisdiction of the offense may extend the time for good cause shown.

Committee Note – 1979

This is new.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.04 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Bill of Particulars – Motion – Amendments

When an indictment or information alleges the essential facts constituting the offense charged but fails to inform the defendant of the particulars of the offense sufficiently to prepare a defense, the court may direct or permit the filing of a bill of particulars. A motion for a bill of particulars may be made before arraignment or within ten days after arraignment or at such later time as the court may permit. A bill of particulars may be amended at any time subject to such conditions as justice requires.

Committee Note - 1979

The first sentence is the same as the first sentence of prior Rule 24.03. The remainder of the rule is the same as the last two sentences of Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(f). Compare: Prior Rule 24.03.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.05 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Joinder of Offenses

All offenses that are of the same or similar character or based on two or more acts that are part of the same transaction or on two or more acts or transactions that are connected or that constitute parts of a common scheme or plan may be charged in the same indictment or information in separate counts.

Committee Note – 1979

This is the same as prior Rule 24.04(b). Compare: Fed.R.Crim.P. 8(a).


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended May 18, 1981, effective January 1, 1982; amended September 30, 1985, effective July 1, 1986; amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.06 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Joinder of Defendants

Two or more defendants may be charged in the same indictment or information if they are alleged to have participated in the same act or transaction or in the same series of acts or transactions constituting an offense or offenses. Such defendants may be charged in one or more counts together or separately, and all of the defendants need not be charged in each count.

Committee Note – 1979

This is new. It is the same as Fed.R.Crim.P. 8(b). Compare: Prior Rule 24.05.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.07 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Incorrect Name of Defendant

Any defendant charged in an indictment or information under an incorrect name may furnish the defendant's correct name, and the correct name shall be substituted in the indictment or information. Defendant's failure to furnish the correct name shall not invalidate the proceedings.

Committee Note – 1979

This is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.10.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.08 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Amendment or Substitution - Delay

Any information may be amended or an information may be substituted for an indictment at any time before verdict or finding if:

(a) No additional or different offense is charged, and

(b) A defendant's substantial rights are not thereby prejudiced.

No such amendment or substitution shall cause delay of a trial unless the court finds that a defendant needs further time to prepare a defense by reason of such amendment or substitution.

Committee Note – 1979

The first sentence is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.02. The second sentence is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.15. Compare: Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(e).


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.09 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Unavailability of Original

If the original indictment or information is unavailable for any reason, a copy, certified by the clerk of the court or by the prosecuting attorney, may be substituted.

Committee Note – 1979

The source is prior Rule 24.18 but it is broader than the prior rule in that its application is not limited to when the indictment or information is lost or destroyed.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.10 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Two or More For Same Offense

(a) Offense that can be Commenced in More than one County. If a criminal proceeding is commenced in a court having jurisdiction thereof, no other action for the same offense shall be commenced in a court in a different county so long as the criminal proceeding first commenced is pending.

(b) Multiple Indictments or Informations for the Same Offense in the Same County. If there are two or more indictments or informations pending against the defendant for the same offense in the same county, the indictment or information last filed shall supersede all indictments or informations previously filed.

Committee Note – 1979

The first sentence is substantially the same as the second sentence of prior Rule 21.01.

The second sentence is substantially the same as prior Rule 24.14.


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)

First Adopted: June 13, 1979

Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2003

Rule 23 | Rules of Criminal Procedure | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information

23.11 | Misdemeanors or Felonies – Indictment or Information – Nonprejudicial Defects

An indictment or information shall not be invalid, nor shall the trial, judgment, or other proceedings on the indictment or information be stayed, because of any defect that does not prejudice the substantial rights of the defendant.

Committee Note – 1979

The source is prior Rule 24.11. In revising prior Rule 24.11 it is not intended that the substance of that Rule be changed. The revision was made solely to make the rule more concise. Compare: Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(c)(3).


(Adopted June 13, 1979, effective January 1, 1980. Amended January 28, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.)