indict a ham sandwich

English

Etymology

Coined by Sol Wachtler

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdaɪt ə ˈhæm ˈsændwɪtʃ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Verb

indict a ham sandwich (third-person singular simple present indicts a ham sandwich, present participle indicting a ham sandwich, simple past and past participle indicted a ham sandwich)

1. (chiefly US, law, hyperbolic) To charge (someone) with a crime with ease, despite the innocence of the accused party, a lack of evidence to secure an indictment, etc.
   • 2023 March 31, Maria Cramer, “Here’s how indictments work in the United States’ legal system”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     That one-sided arrangement often leads defense lawyers to minimize indictments and argue that prosecutors could persuade jurors to “indict a ham sandwich,” a proverbial phrase that former Vice President Mike Pence used on CNN Thursday night.

   • 2022 April 14, Ariana Garcia, “Harris Co. Judge Lina Hidalgo on staff indictments: 'A grand jury can indict a ham sandwich”, in Chron‎^[2]:

     When asked in an interview Thursday with ABC13 if she was worried about being indicted herself, Hidalgo responded "I don't know how far this is going to go and it's very easy if you present one-sided facts to a grand jury. Everybody knows that a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich if that's all they see."

Usage notes

• Used hyperbolically to suggest how easy it is to indict someone, and that a mere indictment is not probative of guilt.