State v. White

The Supreme Court held that the superseding indictment upon which Defendant was tried and convicted was facially defective, and thus failed to establish jurisdiction in the trial court, because it failed to name the victim.The indictment identified the alleged victim in this case as "Victim #1." Defendant was found guilty of sexual offense with a child by an adult offender. Before the court of appeals, Defendant argued that the indictment was invalid because it identified the victim as "Victim #1" rather than naming the victim as directed by the short-form indictment statute for the offense. The court of appeals concluded that the indictment was valid because the identity of the victim could be ascertained by reference to other documents in the record. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) use of the phrase "Victim #1" does not constitute "naming the victim"; and (2) facially validity is determined by evaluating only the allegations in the criminal pleading. View "State v. White" on Justia Law