Grand Juries



Grand Juries

Introduction

The grand jury in the U.S. judicial system is a judicial institution created by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. The grand jury is composed of people, whose function is to assist the Prosecutor. The decision by the grand jury must be taken by a simple majority, contrary to the decisions of juries in a trial that must be taken by an absolute majority. A grand jury does not determine guilt or innocence of a person but rather assesses the cause, the cause of crime. A grand jury may compel the production of evidence and may request come from witnesses.

The grand jury has been a fixture of American law since the colonial period and continues to play an important role in the criminal justice system. It originated in twelfth-century England and was brought to North America by English colonists. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution requires the federal government to use grand juries. The grand jury is designed to place a check on prosecutorial discretion, so that prosecutors do not use abuse their authority to charge people with crimes. However, in practice, the grand jury typically ratifies the decision of the prosecutor (James, 1987).

The word "jury" comes from the Old French "Juree" and taken over by the English "jury" that was later rehabilitated in French. In Old French, the word "Juree" meant "oath" or "legal investigation". In English, the word "jury" became synonymous meeting of persons chosen to decide on a particular issue.

Role of Grand Jury

In the American legal system, the grand jury is an optional step, not mandatory. The grand jury is composed of U.S. citizens before whom the prosecutor, District Attorney, is presenting a criminal record to assess whether the conditions are required to hold a trial or, conversely, to make a non-place. A lawsuit is a long and expensive process and the transition to a grand jury can avoid trial.

In California, there are also grand juries "civilian" as opposed to the traditional criminal grand jury. These grand juries are responsible for reviewing the daily work of local officials in the county and municipalities in the county. Each grand jury consists of 23 grand jurors drawn from volunteers. Their mandate is for one year and is paid $60 per day. They have the power to receive complaints from any citizen, to call witnesses before him to examine all records, inspect prisons etc. They publish reports to propose changes or denounce abuses.

The grand jury consists of 18 people, half comes from the jurors summoned for the first penalty period after 1 January, and the other half comes from the aforementioned criminal for the first period after 1 July. The grand jury determines whether there is reason to believe that persons accused of felonies were committed. The endorsement of the indictment by the grand jury is a necessary initially to prosecute a person in the higher courts, unless the defendant waives that right. The defendant may waive the endorsement of the ...