In Maryland, I'm pretty sure that for a felony, one requires a grand jury to indict. For a misdemeanor, a prosecutor can obtain an information from a judge.
Or so my lawyer tells me.
sitetest
From a criminal defense attorney’s website: “Whenever you are charged with a felony you are entitled to an independent review of the case by either a Grand Jury or a District Court Judge. If the State presents the case to a grand jury in a secret proceeding and the Grand Jury finds sufficient facts to go forward then the Grand Jury will indict you and you will not be entitled to a preliminary hearing. If the State’s Attorney decides not to take the case before a Grand Jury then you are entitled to preliminary hearing in front of a district court judge Preliminary hearings for felonies are typically held in the District Court.”
I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this.