Basset v. United States was a Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a defendant could be convicted of a crime if the indictment was not found by a grand jury. The case involved a man named Basset who was charged with a crime in the District of Columbia. The indictment was not found by a grand jury, but rather by a single judge. Basset argued that this violated the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, which states that no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Basset, finding that the Fifth Amendment requires that all criminal indictments must be found by a grand jury. The Court reasoned that the grand jury is an important safeguard against oppressive government action and that the Fifth Amendment was intended to protect citizens from arbitrary and oppressive government action. The Court also noted that the grand jury is an important check on the power of the government to prosecute individuals. The Court's decision in Basset v. United States established the principle that criminal indictments must be found by a grand jury in order to be valid. This ruling has been cited in numerous subsequent cases and remains an important part of the criminal justice system today.

In Basset v. United States, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a defendant could be convicted of manslaughter for killing another person in self-defense. The majority opinion held that the defendant could not be found guilty because he acted out of necessity and did not intend to cause harm or death. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that it was possible for an individual who kills in self-defense to still be found guilty of manslaughter if they had acted with negligence or recklessness when using deadly force against their assailant. He argued that although the intent may have been justified by necessity, there must also exist some degree of culpability on behalf of the accused before a conviction can stand under criminal law principles.