Judicial process and legal proceedings

Grand Juries

The purpose of the grand jury is to serve as an intermediate body between suspicion of a crime and charging a defendant with a crime. The grand jury is charged with determining whether or not probable cause exists to charge a defendant with a crime. If the grand jury determines that probable cause does exist, it returns a true bill, and the defendant is indicted for the crime. If the grand jury determines that no probable cause exists to charge the defendant, they no bill the defendant and the defendant is not indicted.

In theory, the grand jury performs a buffering role between an accused and the state. Grand juries can perform their roles in different ways. In most jurisdictions there are standing grand juries which meet at specific times to consider various crimes. There can also be special grand juries, which are convened to determine whether to indict someone for a particular crime. The grand jury functions in secret. Testimony in front of a grand jury is generally secret, and the normal rules of evidence do not apply in front of a grand jury. Grand juries may compel witness testimony. Furthermore, the target of a grand jury inquiry is not entitled to testify in front of the grand jury or present a defense in front of the grand jury, though they may be permitted to do so. Moreover, grand jury deliberations are secret; even the presiding judge is absent while the grand jury deliberates.

3. The types of crimes usually heard by a grand jury are felonies.

Bonus Questions

The primary criticism of the grand jury system is that the grand jury no longer stands as a protection between the state and the accused, but simply indicts anyone that the prosecutor asks them to indict. Moreover, because of the secrecy surrounding the grand jury system, there is a very real concern that a defendant may not have the opportunity to actually confront his accusers. While improper evidence may not come in at trial, it is a fallacy to assume that simply protecting someone from conviction is protecting him or her from all of the possible negative effects of an improper indictment. The very real time, expense, and risk of trial means that even an actually innocent person who is indicted may consider a plea bargain rather than face the risk of trial.

While there is some merit to the idea that grand juries listen to prosecutors, individual grand juries behave in different manners. Some of them simply act as rubber stamps for prosecutors, while other grand juries more carefully consider the charges before them. However, the secrecy surrounding the proceedings makes it difficult to know the details surrounding a particular grand jury. Therefore, while the criticism may not appropriately apply to every grand jury, there certainly appears to be merit in the criticism.