San Diego Criminal Lawyers Blog
If you have been indicted for a federal crime, or with any capital crime or felony at the state level– you likely have questions about the grand jury process. It is a procedure that is cloaked in secrecy, making it something of a mystery to the public. While we hear terms like “grand jury” and “indictment” in relation to high-profile cases, making sense of the terms when they directly affect you can be seriously troubling.
Understanding the Role of the Grand Jury
A cross-section of adults living in the area where a purported crime occurred will comprise any grand jury. Randomly identified individuals are notified by mail that they’ve been called to serve. Police and/or other investigative bodies have already delivered evidence to a prosecutor, who will then present that evidence—including documents, witness testimony, and more– to the grand jury. At the conclusion of this presentation, the jury will weigh the evidence and decide whether the prosecutor has demonstrated that the crime occurred at the hands of the accused. To put it more succinctly, they will decide if there is probable cause to justify bringing the case to trial.
The Indictment
If the grand jury finds that there is probable cause to charge a suspect on one or more counts, they will indicate so by providing an indictment – a formal finding–to the prosecutor. At that point, the prosecutor must either elect to pursue the case in a trial, use the indictment(s) to pressure a suspect into cooperating in a deal that provides immunity in exchange for testimony against someone else, or drop the case altogether.
Grand Juries Differ from Other Juries
Grand juries are made up of everyday citizens who are arbitrarily selected, just like other juries. Still, they differ from other juries in many important ways:
- Grand juries are undisclosed until after an indictment is delivered, with the public—and the suspect– typically unaware they are meeting.
- Anywhere from 16 to 23 people typically serve on grand juries, higher than in criminal cases.
- Grand juries are tasked with deciding whether there is enough evidence to support bringing the case to trial, as opposed to criminal juries, which are charged with determining innocence or guilt.
- There is no defense presentation for a grand jury, as it is not a trial.
- Criminal juries must unanimously find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while only half plus one is required to move the case to trial in a grand jury (a much easier standard to meet).
- A defendant attends a criminal trial but is never present for a grand jury proceeding, as he or she is not even aware that a grand jury is looking into them until after there is an indictment.
- Unlike typical juries, the grand jury can call witnesses with the help of the prosecutor,
- Because a grand jury proceeding is not a trial, double jeopardy does not apply; therefore, if there is no indictment, the prosecutor can always gather more evidence and try again with a new grand jury in the future.