Accusation

Origin

Middle English, from Anglo-French accuser, from Latin accusare to call to account, from ad- + causa lawsuit

• 14th Century

Definitions

• 1: to charge with a fault or offense : blame
• 2: to charge with an offense judicially or by a public process

Description

A criminal accusation is the process of declaring one's belief in another's liability for that other's criminal action(s). A criminal accusation may be informally made through a declaration made to the public at large (generally through news media) or by the filing of a formal accusation in a court of law by a person legally entitled to do so, generally on behalf of the state by a criminal prosecutor.

See also

• Indictment