indict a ham sandwich

The story

Possibly alluding to ham sandwich (“something utterly commonplace, of modest value”). The term was popularized by the American jurist Sol Wachtler (born 1930) who used it in 1985 shortly after his appointment as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals when expressing the view that the use of grand juries to bring indictments should be abolished: see the quotation from 1985.

First known use, by meaning

• from late 20th c. Of a grand jury: to charge a person with a crime, despite a perceived lack of evidence.