Miller v. United States
United States Supreme Court
471 U.S. 130 (1985)
Miller (defendant) was indicted for mail fraud on two sets of allegations arising from a staged burglary: one charging him with fraud for consenting in advance to the burglary, and a second charging him with lying to his insurer about the value of stolen materials. The government moved to strike the first set of allegations before trial, over Miller's objection that the full indictment should go to the jury, and Miller was convicted based solely on evidence relating to the second set of allegations; the court of appeals vacated his conviction, reasoning the grand jury might not have indicted him at all had it considered only the second set of allegations, and holding the prosecutorial amendment violated his right to be tried only on a grand jury indictment. The United States (plaintiff) petitioned for certiorari.
Whether a prosecutorial decision to strike allegations of one particular criminal charge from a grand jury indictment and present only evidence relating to a second alleged criminal charge violates a defendant's Fifth Amendment right to be tried by a grand jury.