Moreland (D) was charged by information with a failure to provide support for his minor child. D was convicted and sentenced to a workhouse at hard labor for six months. The statute prescribed punishment as 'a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment in the workhouse at hard labor for not more than twelve months or both.' D was charged with the crime by an information and not by a grand jury indictment, which was required for infamous crimes under the Fifth Amendment. The appellate court reversed the conviction and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

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