What is a Grand Jury?
A grand jury is often a larger group of people than a trial jury and serves for a longer period of time. The grand jury does not determine the guilt or innocence, but only whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that a specific person or persons committed it. If the grand jury finds probable cause to exist, it will return a written statement of the charges called an Indictment. Once that has been done, the accused will either plead guilty or go to trial.
From the American Bar Association: “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 an indictment. The original purpose of the grand jury was to act as a buffer between the king (and his prosecutors) and the citizens. Critics argue that this safeguarding role has been erased, and the grand jury simply acts as a rubber stamp for the prosecutor. Since the role of the grand jury is only to determine probable cause, there is no need for the jury to hear all the evidence, or even conflicting evidence. It is left to the good faith of the prosecutor to present conflicting evidence. In the federal system, the courts have ruled that the grand jury has extraordinary investigative powers that have been developed over the years since the 1950s. This wide, sweeping, almost unrestricted power is the cause of much of the criticism. The power is virtually in complete control of the prosecutor, a
A grand jury does not determine guilt or innocence, but whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. The evidence is normally presented only by an attorney for the government. The grand jury must determine from this evidence whether a person should have formal charges filed by the government. If the grand jury finds probable cause, then it will return a written statement of the charges, called an indictment. Grand jurors sit on a panel of 23 jurors. In Detroit grand jurors generally serve four to six days per month for 18 months. In divisional offices grand jurors generally serve two to three days per month for 18 months. Grand jury terms may be extended if necessary. More information is available in the Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors.
A grand jury is a larger group of people than a trial jury, and serves for a longer period of time. The grand jury does not determine the guilt or innocence, but only whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and that a specific person or persons committed it. If the grand jury finds probable cause to exist, then it will return a written statement of the charges called an “indictment.” After that the accused will either plead guilty or go to trial. In a sense the grand jury operates as both a “sword” authorizing the government’s prosecution of suspected criminals, and also as a “shield” protecting citizens from unwarranted or inappropriate prosecutions.
A Grand Jury does not determine guilt or innocence, but whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. The evidence is normally presented only by an attorney for the government. The grand jury must determine from this evidence whether a person should have formal charges filed by the government. If the grand jury finds probable cause, then it will return a written statement of the charges, called an indictment. Grand jurors are on a panel of 23 jurors and generally serve one to two days per month for 18 months. Grand jury terms may be extended for 6 months if necessary.
