|
Criminal-Defense
Articles > Behind the Grand Jury
Behind
the Grand Jury
Even to those folks who are
regular watchers of crime shows on the television, the grand
jury remains somewhat of an elusive mystery to most people.
A typical TV viewer and movie goer oftentimes watches a district
attorney or prosecutor rant and rave about taking a case to
a grand jury.
As a bit of background, a grand
jury is constituted in much the same way a petit or trial
jury is assembled. Grand jurors are called to service randomly
exactly like those men and women who sit on a trial or "regular"
jury.
As a matter of course and practice,
more people actually serve as jurors on a grand jury than
sit on a jury for a normal criminal trial.
A grand jury meets in secret.
The members of the grand jury are not revealed to the public
while the jury is sitting.
A prosecutor presents his or
her case to the grand jury in order to see if probable cause
exists that a crime has been committed and that a certain
committed the alleged crime. The prosecutor does not present
all of the case in his possession to a grand jury. A prosecutor
does not want to reveal his full hand at such an early juncture
in the case. Therefore, he or she makes a bare bones presentation
to the grand jury. He or she presents just enough information
to demonstrate probable cause.
Probably cause is not a difficult
burden for a prosecutor to meet. It is a far, far cry from
the standard needed to convict, which is beyond reasonable
doubt. (Some lawyers and judges have long maintained that
a ham sandwich could end up being indicted by a grand jury.
By that it is meant that it takes very, very little to develop
enough of a bare bones cast to indict a person by grand jury.)
During the grand jury proceedings,
the prosecutor will present some of his witnesses and some
of his evidence to support the allegations made in the criminal
complaint.
A criminal defendant, of course,
has every right to attend a grand jury. But, he or she is
not entitled to present any specific evidence on his or her
own behalf. Additionally and unique in our judicial is the
fact that a lawyer cannot speak on behalf of a criminal defendant
during grand jury proceedings. In short, a lawyer is on hand
for a grand jurt setting more for mal support than an thing
else.
A grand jury, when it is done
with its business on a given case, presents what is normally
known as a sealed indictment. Within the sealed indictment
is contained the specific charges that the grand jurors have
deemed necessary to be brought against a criminal defendant
based on the evidence presented to the grand jury during its
proceedings.
The sealed indictment is conveyed
to a judge who will then order a criminal defendant to appear
in court. At this juncture, the criminal defendant will be
brought before a judge and advised of the charges and of his
rights.
Further reading resources
Grand jury - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the common law, a grand jury is a type of jury which determines whether there is enough evidence for a trial. Grand juries carry out this duty by ...
Frequently Asked Questions About the Grand Jury System - Issues ...
The primary function of the modern grand jury is to review the evidence presented by the prosecutor and determine whether there is probable cause to return ...
Grand Jury: Information, definitions, and explanations of what ...
The Federal Grand Jury web site was created to let people know what grand juries are and what they do. It also serves as an online clearinghouse where ...
FAQs About Grand Juries
This is an indictment a federal grand jury returned against Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols ... This is the transcript of a state grand jury proceeding. ...
Grand Jury Orange County
The California Grand Jury is unique in its function and selection process compared to other juries, including petit and trial juries and federal grand ...
Grand Jury Manual
U.S. Department of Justice Seal GRAND JURY MANUAL ... Chapter 4 - Presenting Evidence to the Grand Jury. Chapter 5 - Immunity ...
Sacramento Grand Jury
Sacramento County Grand Jury Web Site. ... The 2007-2008 Sacramento Grand Jury Final Report is now available on this Web site. If you are unable to open the ...
Mendocino County - Mendocino County Grand Jury - Welcome
The Grand Jury is a citizen organization establish by California law to review and investigate government of a county and its cities. ...
Federal Jury Duty - Grand Jury
A grand jury decides if there is a probable cause to indict (accuse) individuals or corporations on criminal charges based upon the evidence presented. ...
County Of Los County - Grand Jury
County of Los Angeles, Civil Grand Jury 210 W. Temple Street, 11th Floor, Room 11-506 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Telephone: (213) 893-1047 ...
Powered by Google
|