法律英语：29 Grand Juries

by Michael W. Flynn

 

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed 1 to practice in your jurisdiction 2. Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Ever wonder why grand juries are grand? Bryan from Alabama did, and wrote:

Here's a question that's been on my mind for awhile -- what's the difference between a "grand jury" and a regular old jury?

Both juries are groups of people that make findings of fact in criminal cases, but grand juries are used before an accused goes to trial, and regular juries are used to determine guilt 3 after trial.

Historically, grand juries were used in various public matters. In the 18th century in America, private citizens could petition a grand jury of citizens to determine whether the government should repair a bridge, or whether a tax collector was neglecting his duties, or whether the government should prosecute 4 a crime. The grand jury had the power to go out and conduct its own investigations 5.

In modern times, grand juries have slowly disappeared, mostly due to the trend of the legislature creating administrative 6 bodies to handle things like public works. They are now only used with any regularity 7 in the U.S., only for criminal cases, and even here in only about half of the states. Today, grand juries are called only for the purpose of determining whether the prosecutor 8, usually the district attorney, has presented enough evidence to allow a trial to go forward. So, if the DA has evidence that a murder has been committed, the DA must present the evidence to the grand jury, and the grand jury decides whether there is enough evidence to charge the accused and proceed with trial. The accused does not participate in the proceedings 9, the proceedings are almost entirely 10 secret, and the grand jury can compel certain witnesses to appear and testify.

However, only the federal government and about half the states even use grand juries. And, in the jurisdictions 11 that do, only charges of felonies or other serious crimes require the use of a grand jury. For misdemeanors, the DA can usually just file the criminal case against the accused and proceed to trial.

In jurisdictions that do not use grand juries, there is usually a preliminary hearing conducted before a judge that serves about the same purpose. So, rather than presenting evidence in secret to a grand jury, a DA will present the evidence he has to a judge, and the judge determines whether there is even enough evidence to move forward with trial.

The purpose of both the grand jury and the preliminary hearing is a form of check on the power of the DA. Rather than the DA being allowed to just charge anyone with anything and force a trial, the DA must muster 12 enough evidence, not to prove guilt, but to prove that there is at least enough suspicion to force a person to go through the criminal justice system. In both situations if the grand jury or judge disagrees with the DA, and does not think the evidence is enough, then the DA cannot move forward to trial against the accused. If the grand jury agrees with the DA, then the grand jury will issue an indictment 13. Grand juries are typically made of up to 23 people.

A “regular” jury, sometimes called a petit jury, is the jury that most people know from Law and Order: it is the group of 12 peers who listen to the evidence presented in a trial, and determine whether the prosecutor has proven that the defendant 14 committed the illegal acts charged beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the second jury, and the second set of checks that is imposed on the government before it can take away a person’s freedom.

So, a grand jury is not fancier or better than a regular jury – it just serves a different purpose in the criminal justice process, and at a different time.

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