Page:1862-63 Territory of Dakota Session Laws.pdf/47

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38
CRIMINAL CODE.

Felony defined. Sec. 3. A felony is a public offense punishable with death, or which is, or in the discretion of thc court may be, punishable by imprisonment in tho penitentiary or territorial prison.

Misdemeanor. Sec. 4. Every other public offense is a misdemeanor.

Party prosecuted designated defendant. Sec. 5. The party prosecuted in a criminal action is designated as the defendant.




CHAPTER 2.

RIGHTS OF PERSONS ACCUSED OF CRIMES AND OFFENSES.

Person not held to answer except on presentment or indictment. Section 1. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense, unless on the presentment or indictment of a grand-jury, except in. cases of impeachment, or in cases cognizable by justices of the peace, or arising in the army, or militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger.

Rights of defendant in criminal actions. Sec. 2. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel ; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to meet the witnesses face to face; to have compulsory process to compel the attendance witnesses in his behalf, and in prosecutions by indictment or information, to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district wherein the offense shall have been committed, which county or district shall have been previously ascertained by law.

Person not to be convicted except upon confession or verdict of jury. Sec. 3. No person indicted for an offense shall be convicted thereof, unless by confession of his guilt in open court, or by admitting the truth of the charge against him by his plea or demurrer, or by the verdict of a jury accepted and recorded by the court.

Person not held to answer on second indictment, &c. Sec. 4. No person shall be held to answer on a second indictment for an offense of which he has been acquitted by the jury upon the facts and merits on a former trial; but such acquittal may be pleaded by him in bar of any subsequent prosecution for the same offense, notwithstanding any defect in the form or in the substance of the indictment on which he was acquitted.