What is the role of the Investigative Grand Jury?
Grand juries are no longer used in Pennsylvania for routine, criminal cases. Rather, they are used only in complicated cases involving serious charges and in which there are usually numerous potential defendants. These cases tend to be those in which traditional law enforcement methods have failed to build solid cases against suspects, and the purpose of bringing a case before the Investigative Grand Jury is to force witnesses to testify, with the hope that this will lead to sufficient evidence to bring charges against at least some of the suspects. Most Investigative Grand Jury proceedings are brought by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. If you are subpoenaed to testify before the Investigative Grand Jury, there is a good chance that you yourself are a suspect or at the very least, someone close to you is a suspect. Wives and girlfriends of suspects are routinely subpoenaed to appear before the Investigative Grand Jury. You should never appear before the Investigative Grand
