Reading Room Document

Constitutionality of Allowing Punishment of Misdemeanor by a Sentence Exceeding One Year

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution requires that offenses punishable by imprisonment for more than one year be prosecuted by an indictment presented to a grand jury. Proposed amendments to the Lacey Act, by which misdemeanor violations of the Act could result in up to five years' imprisonment if the defendant were designated a "special offender," must be construed to require prosecution by indictment in all cases. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22611/download.

March 30, 1981