Grand Jury Investigation
The grand jury investigation is often initiated by a Federal Court and it is tasked with seeking information about a particular crime or accusation, evaluating evidence and allegations, and based on all these it will determine whether the criminal charges that come to its discretion are warranted or not. The local US Attorneys or the Department of Justice special prosecutors are the agents that present the evidence to it.
What is the role of grand jury?
A grand jury that is investigating a particular incident assesses if a case that involves a crime has enough in it to go for a trial. It the interest of the US Government to make a grand jury investigation for all the cases where federal laws have been broken to determine the viability of the case. The grand juries are not employed in all the states in the country are they are ordinary citizens are consisted of 16 to 20 people. If the grand jury finds that the case is a genuine one and there are enough evidences to proceed with the case, it will issue indictments.
The grand jury is part of the system to be a check to the prosecutorial system so that the prosecutors cannot blatantly accuse people of crimes where there are only little evidences exists. This is one of the reasons for some of the people in the society to feel that grand jury investigation is not the right choice to provide a balance in the legal system. Moreover, the suspect is asked to appear before a grand jury before without legal counsel. Since there are many arguments against the grand jury investigation in the system, many states have abolished it and only half of the states in the country have it now. However, the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States suggests that a grand jury should hear the evidence prior to a person being indicted for a serious crime.
How are grand juries selected?
In most jurisdictions in the state the names of the jurors are usually culled from various databases like national voters list, public utilities lists and from motor vehicle license. However, they are not screened for any biases or other such things. They are supposed to be devoid of any biases and at times the practical realities of the situation may come against the theories. It is the prosecutor who brings the case to the grand jury and he is the one who decides which witness to call and which one to receive immunity. The prosecutor does all the basics and the grand jury normally asks questions at the end of the session.
Conclusion
To sum up the primary role of the grand jury is to assess about the crime accused on a person and his role is to act as a buffer between the king and the citizens. Though some argue that the role of a grand jury is only that of a rubber stamp, it is still relevant in the society as a voice for the people.
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