Ex parte Bain
Ex parte Bain, 121 U.S. 1 (1887), was a United States Supreme Court case involving grand jury indictments. Background George M. Bain, Jr. was indicted by a federal criminal grand jury and subsequently convicted for making a false report or statement as cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Norfolk, Virginia under U.S. Rev. Stat. § 5209. Post conviction, Bain filed a writ of habeas corpus, which the Supreme Court granted. The Supreme Court granted Bain's motion after he produced evidence proving that the criminal grand jury indictment he was arrested under had been changed and was not resubmitted to the grand jury prior to his arrest. The Court found that even though the changes may have been negligible, federal courts lose jurisdiction to even make that determination once an indictment by a grand jury has been changed and not resubmitted. The grand jury indictment was changed, therefore there was no valid grand jury indictment as required for federal arrests under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Holding When an indictment is filed with the court no change can be made in the body of the instrument by order of the court, or by the prosecuting attorney, without