grand jury

n.
A jury of 12 to 23 persons convened in private session to evaluate accusations against persons charged with crime and to determine whether the evidence warrants a bill of indictment.

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The American grand jury has its origin in English law. The earliest manifestation appears to have developed toward the end of the tenth century, when leading citizens were summoned to court to report what crimes had been committed in their communities. A more direct antecedent is the Clarendon jury of inquest of 1166, which was established in each community by Henry II as an accusatory body of twelve “good and lawful men.” It reported all offenses that had been (or were said to have been) committed in the venue to a group of knights who, in turn, reported the accusations to visiting royal officers (justices). The reports of the juries of inquest became the key instrument for initiating criminal proceedings. When trial by jury replaced oath‐taking, battle, and ordeal (after the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215), jurors were drawn initially from among the members of the jury of inquest.

Grand and petit juries became distinct entities by the middle of the fourteenth century. The modern form of the grand jury dates from 1368, when Edward III appointed twenty‐four men to an inquisitorial and accusatory board in each English county. It required another three hundred years (the Colledge and Shaftesbury cases of 1681) before the grand jury gained the function that is now regarded as its prime virtue and justification: the protection of citizens from unwarranted, malicious, and political prosecutions.

The grand jury came to the American colonies as part of English law. As conflicts developed with the mother country, the colonists made use of the grand jury's protective functions by, for example, refusing to authorize prosecutions sought by the Crown. The most famous example was the Zenger case of 1735. The American grand jury served as an instrument of resistance, as a revolutionary organizing body, and as an arm of democratic self‐government. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States mirrors colonial esteem by providing that “no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury.”

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Wood v. Georgia (1962), stated that the grand jury always

has been regarded as a primary security to the innocent against hasty, malicious and oppressive persecution; it serves the invaluable function in our society of standing between the accuser and the accused … to determine whether a charge is founded upon reason or was dictated by an intimidating power or by malice and personal ill will. (p. 390)

In United States v. Calandra (1974), the Court also affirmed extraordinary powers and a wide procedural latitude for the grand jury. It guaranteed that the proceedings of grand juries be secret in United States v. Procter & Gamble Co. (1958). In In re Horowitz (1973), the Court affirmed the grand jury's extensive powers to compel the appearance of witnesses, their testimony under oath, and their production of documents. The Court held in Branzburg v. Hayes (1972) that not even newspaper reporters' sources of information are immune from the grand jury's subpoena power.

Persons appearing before the grand jury enjoy few procedural rights. The public prosecutor is not obligated to present exculpatory evidence, and the witness has no right to do so. The accused cannot confront and cross‐examine his accusers. No warnings are required regarding self‐incrimination (United States v. Wong, 1977). The likelihood of a criminal prosecution need not be pointed out (United States v. Washington, 1977). Witnesses can be granted immunity against their will. This may be “transactional” immunity (Brown v. Walker, 1896), but it is more likely to be the considerably more hazardous “use” immunity (Kastigar v. United States, 1972). The protection against double jeopardy does not apply to grand jury proceedings. Hearsay evidence may be taken into account and the exclusionary rule does not apply (United States v. Calandra). Although a witness may ask leave to step outside for consultation, he has no right to be advised by his attorney in the grand jury room (United States v. Mandujano, 1976). Interestingly, the Court has not extended the right to a grand jury hearing and indictment to state proceedings (Hurtado v. California, 1884). Fewer than one‐half of the states now use grand juries; the majority authorize prosecutions by way of preliminary hearings before a magistrate.

The qualifications for grand jury service generally include citizenship, the ability to read and write English, mental soundness, and minimum‐age and residency requirements. The size of most federal grand juries is twenty‐three. Sixteen grand jurors constitute a quorum; twelve must agree to issue an indictment. The term of service typically is from three to eighteen months but can be extended. The Federal Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 requires grand jurors to be drawn at random from a fair cross‐section of the community, without attention to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status.

See also Fifth Amendment Immunity.

Bibliography

• LeRoy Clark, The Grand Jury (1972).
• Marvin E. Frankel and Gary P. Naftalis, The Grand Jury: An Institution on Trial (1977).
• Richard D. Younger, The People's Panel: The Story of the Grand Jury (1963)

— Peter W. Sperlich

The Assize of Clarendon provided that twelve men of each hundred were to present on oath to the travelling justices those suspected of serious crimes. From the late 14th cent. the grand jury had the task of scrutinizing indictments to examine whether or not the accused should be sent for trial.

The 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that “no person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger.” A grand jury is a group of 12 to 20 people convened to hear, in private, evidence presented by the prosecutor against a person accused of a crime. If a majority of the jurors agree that the accused person has committed a crime, an indictment, or formal charge, is issued. In this way, the government is empowered to proceed with its legal action against the accused person.

The grand jury is a means of protecting an accused person against hasty and oppressive action by a prosecutor for the government. In Wood v. Georgia (1962) the U.S. Supreme Court clearly described the value of the grand jury in protecting the rights of an accused person: “[I]t serves the invaluable function of standing between the accuser and the accused…to determine whether a charge is founded upon reason or was dictated by an intimidating power or by malice and personal ill will.”

See also Due process of law; Rights of the accused

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A panel of citizens that is convened by a court to decide whether it is appropriate for the government to indict (proceed with a prosecution against) someone suspected of a crime.

An American institution since the colonial days, the grand jury has long played an important role in criminal law. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that a person suspected of a federal crime cannot be tried until a grand jury has determined that there is enough reason to charge the person. Review by a grand jury is meant to protect suspects from inappropriate prosecution by the government, since grand jurors are drawn from the general population. It has been criticized at times as failing to serve its purpose.

The grand jury system originated in twelfth-century England, when King Henry II enacted the Assize of Clarendon in order to take control of the courts from the Catholic Church and local nobility. The proclamation said that a person could not be tried as a criminal unless a certain number of local citizens appeared in court to accuse her or him of specific crimes. This group of citizens, known as the grand assize, was very powerful: it had the authority to identify suspects, present evidence personally held by individual jurors, and determine whether to make an accusation. Trial was by ordeal, so accusation meant that conviction was very likely. (Trial by ordeal involved subjecting the defendant to some physical test to determine guilt or innocence. For example, in ordeal by water, a suspect was thrown into deep water: if she or he floated, the verdict was guilty; if the suspect sank, the verdict was innocent.)

The grand assize was not designed to protect suspects, and it changed very little over the next five hundred years. Then, in 1681, its reputation began to change. An English grand jury denied King Charles II's wish for a public hearing in the cases of two Protestants accused of treason for opposing his attempts to reestablish the Catholic Church. The grand jury held a private session and refused to indict the two suspects. This gave the grand jury new respect as a means of protection against government bullying (although ultimately in those particular cases, the king found a different grand jury willing to indict the suspects).

After this small act of rebellion, the grand jury became known as a potential protector of people facing baseless or politically motivated prosecution. The early colonists brought this concept to America, and by 1683, all colonies had some type of grand jury system in place. Over the next century, grand juries became more sympathetic to those who resisted British rule. In 1765, for example, a Boston grand jury refused to indict leaders of protests against the Stamp Act, a demonstration of resistance to colonialism.

The grand jury was considered important enough to incorporate it into the U.S. Constitution created after the Revolutionary War, and has remained largely unchanged. Grand juries are used in the federal and most state courts. Federal grand juries use a standard set of rules. States are free to formulate their own pretrial requirements, and vary greatly in the number of grand jurors they seat, the limits placed on the deliberations of those jurors, and whether a grand jury is used at all. Federal courts use a grand jury that consists of twenty-three citizens but can operate with a quorum of sixteen. Twelve jurors' votes are required for an indictment. States use a grand jury consisting of as few as five but no more than twenty-three members. Grand juries are chosen from lists of qualified state residents of legal age, who have not been convicted of a crime, and who are not biased against the subject of the investigation.

The usual role of a grand jury is to review the adequacy of evidence presented by the prosecutor and then decide whether to indict the suspect. In some cases, a grand jury decides which charges are appropriate. Generally, grand jurors do not lead investigations, but can question witnesses to satisfy themselves that evidence is adequate and usable. The prosecutor prepares a bill of indictment (a list explaining the case and possible charges) and presents evidence to the grand jury. The jurors can call witnesses, including the target of the investigation, without revealing the nature of the case. They call witnesses by using a document called a subpoena. A person who refuses to answer the grand jury's questions can be punished for contempt of court. However, no witness need answer incriminating questions unless that witness has been granted immunity. In federal courts, the jurors may accept hearsay and other evidence that is normally not admissible at trial.

If the grand jury agrees that there is sufficient reason to charge the suspect with a crime, it returns an indictment carrying the words true bill. If there is insufficient evidence to satisfy the grand jury, it returns an indictment carrying the words no bill.

Seldom do grand juries issue documents. However, when given a judge's permission to do so, they may use a report to denounce the conduct of a government figure or organization against whom an indictment is not justified or allowed. This occurred in 1973, when U.S. district court judge John J. Sirica allowed the grand jury investigating the Watergate scandals to criticize President Richard Nixon's conduct in covering up the involvement of his administration in the June 17, 1972, burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Apartment and Hotel complex. The judge recommended that the report be forwarded to the House Judiciary Committee to assist in proceedings to impeach the president. Many states allow the issuance of grand jury reports, but limit their use: the target must be a public official or institution who can be denounced only where statutory authority exists, and the resulting document can be released publicly only with a judge's approval.

In February 1996, for the first time in history, a first lady of the United States was required to appear before a grand jury. Hillary Rodham Clinton testified for four hours before a federal grand jury on the disappearance and reappearance of billing records related to her representation of a failed investment institution that was under scrutiny when she was an attorney in Arkansas. Her testimony was part of the Whitewater investigation, which examined past financial dealings of Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Bill Clinton, and others.

Critics have complained that the grand jury offers witnesses and suspected criminals insufficient protection. The cause of the controversy is the set of rules that govern the operation of federal grand juries. A prosecutor (a public attorney whose job is to prove a defendant's guilt) manages the work of the grand jury, which is to investigate and determine the adequacy of evidence against a suspect. Grand juries have broad powers in order to accomplish their goals, and they meet in secret. Critics say this combination leaves room for abuse by prosecutors.

Among a federal grand jury's powers is the authority to call witnesses, including suspects, without identifying the exact nature of the investigation. Witnesses cannot have an attorney present when they testify. Prosecutors are required to present, on behalf of the suspect, information that they feel is exculpatory (so strong that it could create a reasonable doubt that the suspect committed the crime). In arguing that the suspect should be charged, prosecutors may make arguments and use information that would not be admissible during a trial. A formal record of federal grand jury proceedings is not usually provided to the suspect even after indictment. Among the actions a grand jury cannot take are gathering evidence solely for a civil, or noncriminal, lawsuit, and obtaining evidence against someone who has already been indicted.

Critics of the current system claim that justice is ill served by these rules. They say that ambitious prosecutors can misuse the powers of a nonprofessional grand jury to harass, trap, or wear down witnesses. For example, activists who opposed the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 1970s accused the Justice Department of abusing the grand jury system as it searched for information about political dissidents. The activists believed that the department used the power and secrecy of the grand jury to intimidate witnesses and fish for evidence. Many other groups, such as the news media, the business community, and organized labor, have also criticized the institution.

Supporters of the current system say that the secrecy of the grand jury's work prevents suspects from escaping, prevents attempts to influence the jurors, prevents the coaching or intimidation of witnesses, encourages candid testimony, and protects the privacy of innocent suspects who are later cleared. Regarding witnesses' lack of legal representation, supporters of the status quo point out that delay, disruption, and rehearsed testimony would lessen the efficiency of the grand jury's work and would result in a minitrial. Similar arguments have been made against limiting evidence that would not be admissible at trial. In addition, federal courts have held that because the rights of a suspect are adequately protected during trial, where the strength or weakness of evidence determines the verdict, no examination of grand jury indictment proceedings is necessary.

Grand juries also face criticism in the area of jury selection, especially with high-profile cases. Criticism focuses on bias and a lack of balance in the selection process. The requirement that grand juries be unbiased has evolved since the indictment of Vice President Aaron Burr as a traitor in 1807, when he insisted that the evidence against him be heard by an "impartial" jury as guaranteed in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. He successfully challenged many jurors on the all-Republican grand jury that had been selected. Burr was willing to accept jurors who were familiar with some details of his famous case but claimed not to have drawn any conclusions about it. (Although he was indicted, Burr was eventually acquitted at trial.)

Today, an unbiased grand jury means one that comprises people who have no prior familiarity with the facts of the case. Critics of this requirement say that it greatly limits the quality of people who are chosen to sit, since many intelligent, engaged, and otherwise ideal candidates for a grand jury also follow the news. On June 24, 1994, a California state judge dismissed a grand jury that was considering whether to indict former athlete and media personality O. J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. The judge was responding to concerns, of both the prosecutor and the defendant, that grand jurors had been exposed to pretrial publicity that might prejudice them — such as transcripts of 911 calls made by Simpson's ex-wife after he broke down the back door to her house.

After numerous struggles to balance juries— including grand juries — racially and by gender, federal case law provides that "a defendant may challenge the array of grand jurors … on the ground that the grand jury was not selected, drawn or summoned in accordance with law, and may challenge an individual juror on the ground that the juror is not legally qualified" (Estes v. United States, 335 F.2d 609, cert. denied, 379 U.S. 964, 85 S. Ct. 656, 13 L. Ed. 2d 559).

There have been suggestions that the federal grand jury be abolished, but this action seems unlikely because it would change the Bill of Rights for the first time. In addition, the investigative and indicting roles of the courts have to be performed by some entity, and an alternative entity may be less desirable than the grand jury. Some states have abolished grand juries or provided alternatives. For example, in some states, prosecutors are allowed to file an information, which is a formal list of charges, usually submitted with notice of some kind of probable cause hearing.

Other suggestions for change at the federal level may experience more success. Among those promoted by the American Bar Association and others are the following: [bl]Better instructions from judges to jurors about the grand jury's powers and its independence from prosecutors

Reports by prosecutors on the performance of the grand jury system

Increased access to grand jury transcripts for suspects who are eventually indicted

Expanded safeguards against abuse of witnesses, including education about their rights and the presence of their attorneys

Notification of targets of investigations that they are targets

Optional rather than mandatory appearances by targets of investigations

An end to the requirement that prosecutors present defense evidence, and replacement with a requirement that grand jurors be informed that the defense was not represented in the hearing.

See: Clarendon, Constitutions of.

A player whose poker hand consists of three fours.

SoundPoker Says: This is referred to as a Grand Jury because there are 12 members in a grand jury (three X 4's = 12).

See Also: Sailboats, Set, Three Of A Kind, Trips

A jury that decides whether the evidence warrants bringing an accused person to trial. Once indicted (see indictment) by a grand jury, a person must stand trial.

For a list of words related to grand jury, see:

• Courts, Legal Bodies, and the Law - grand jury: body of usu. twelve to twenty-three citizens who investigate facts to determine whether a crime has been committed and return indictment
• Legal Procedures and Trials - grand jury: jury with power to indict only

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