After a grand jury returns a true bill of indictment, should an order for arrest (OFA) issue as a matter of course? Looking at the OFA form, you might think so: it has eight check boxes, each of which provides a possible basis for the issuance of an OFA, such as a defendant's failure to appear, or the filing of a probation revocation report. The third check box on the form says simply, "TRUE BILL OF INDICTMENT [G.S. 15A-305(b)(1)] a Grand Jury has returned a true bill of indictment against the defendant, a copy of which is attached." But looking at the cited provision, G.S. 15A-305(b)(1), it is apparent that an OFA should not issue as a matter of course. That subsection provides that an OFA may issue when "[a] grand jury has returned a true bill of indictment against a defendant who is not in custody and who has not been released from custody pursuant to . . . [b]ail." (emphasis supplied). Obviously, every defendant who has previously been charged in an executed arrest warrant or a magistrate's order will either be "in custody" or will have been "released from custody pursuant to . . . [b]ail." Thus, G.S. 15A-305(b)(1) provides a basis for issuing an OFA only for defendants who are directly indicted, i.e., who have not previously been charged, and for defendants who have been charged in an arrest warrant but not yet arrested. (An OFA is probably superfluous in the latter case, but it doesn't do any [...]
Faculty Coordinators
