Sample Motion for Bill of Particulars

A BILL OF PARTICULARS SHOULD BE PROVIDED IN THE INSTANT
MATTER.
The purpose of a bill of particulars is to inform the defendant of the nature of the charges
asserted and to allow the defendant to plead conviction or acquittal as a bar to a subsequent
prosecution. Wong Tai v. United States, 273 U.S. 77, 82 (1927); United States v. Addonizio,
451 F.2d 49, 63--64 (3d Cir. 1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 936 (1972). A bill of particulars “is
not intended to provide the defendant with the fruits of the government's investigation,” but rather
to give the defendant “only that minimum amount of information necessary to permit the
defendant to conduct his own investigation.” United States v. Smith, 776 F.2d 1104, 1111 (3rd
Cir. 1985). See also United States v. Fischbach & Moore, Inc., 576 F. Supp. 1384, 1389 (W.D.
Pa. 1983) (bill of particulars not discovery tool to obtain every detail of government's case);
United States v. Enger, 472 F.Supp. 490, 510 (D.N.J. 1978) (bill of particulars not to be used to
require prosecution to assemble information in its files into fully integrated trial theory). In
considering whether a bill of particulars is appropriate, the court may consider not only the
indictment, but also all of the information that has been made available to the defendant.
Fischbach, 576 Supp. at 1389; see also United States v. Kenny, 472 F.2d 1205, 1212 (3d Cir.),
cert. denied, 409 U.S. 914 (1972).
This instant indictment alleges a scheme to defraud approximately seventy women in at
least nine different states over the course of five years. The extortion counts, which allege that
threatening telephone calls were made to six different women during the same five years, does
provide initials for the women, but four of the six victims share the same initial for their last
names. Given the broad range of dates and locations which appear in the Indictment, it is critical
to the defendant’s preparation of his own defense that he be provided with the full names of the

alleged victims in this case. The defendant further requests the conduct, date, place and substance
of every alleged fraudulent act referred to in paragraphs 2 - 12 of the indictment, including the
particulars acts relating to the “seventy women” referred to in paragraph 2. See United States v.
Espy, 989 F.Supp. 17, 33-34 (D.D.C. 1997), rev’d on other grounds by United States v. Espy,
145 F.3d 1369 (D.C. Cir. 1998). Without this information, it will be impossible for the defendant
to conduct his own investigation. Accordingly, the defendant respectfully requests that, pursuant
to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 7(f), the government be required to disclose the full names
of the alleged victims in this case.