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The Grand Jury is one of the three checks and balances in a criminal case, these are in order of occurrence in the process - grand jury, the judge, the appeals court. The first step in most high crimes is the indictment. An indictment is the American people declaring that there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the person being accused could have had means, motive, and opportunity to have committed the alleged crime and need to stand trial. However, during the grand jury phase you will only hear from the prosecutors. The information they want to be allowed or are prohibited to give you has already been determined without your presence.
If the grand jury returns a true bill, the accused will stand trial for the alleged crime. This means the prosecutor successfully proved to the people that with the facts at hand were sufficient to believe that the person could have committed the crime.
On the other hand they could return a no ture bill, which declares that the prosecutor did not meet enough facts or did not give a compelling enough argument to make the American people believe the accused committed the crime.
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EzraUnited States district courts are the trial courts for both criminal and civil federal cases. They use 2 types of juries in criminal cases. A grand jury is one, which usually includes 16 to 23 people, hears charges against a person suspected of having committed a crime. The jury places an indictment on a accused person, if they feel the person is not guilty they let them go.
The duties of a Grand Jury are to hear the prosecutor present Probable Cause that the defendant commited the offense for which he was arrested. If the jury agrees that sufficient probable cause exists they "hand down" an indictment officially charging the defendant with the crime.
Some states still use the Grand Jury system of indicting criminal defendants. The police arrest a subject - deliver the investigation to the Prosecutor's office - who presents the case to a Grand Jury - who decides if there was probable cause for the arrest and that there is enough evidence to send the subject to trial. If they do, an indictment of that subject is prepared and 'handed down' formally charging the defendant of his crime. If they decide there is insufficient evidence of a crime they return a 'no bill' of indictment.
In most areas a grand jury hears and sees evidence, including testimony from experts, witnesses, and others, to determine if a crime has been committed. After that, they determine which specific crimes the accused should be tried for.
Some places, like New York City have a grand jury for almost every crime, while in other areas, they only look at capital crimes.
The advantage of a grand jury process is that their are no defense attorneys allowed (in most areas), and often regular trial rules of questioning are not used.
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Why is the right to a jury trial guaranteed by the Bill of Rights?
Because you are more likely to get a fair sentence if you have a jury
What was the purpose of the bill of rigths in the northwest ordinance?
to subdivide and sell land in the northwest territory
Which of the protections available to criminal offenders through the bill of rights do not currently apply to states?
The protections available to criminal offenders through the Bill of Rights that do not currently apply to states are known as unincorporated rights. These rights include the right to indictment by a grand jury and the right to be protected from excessive bail or fines.
What are some examples of civic duty?
Voting,paying taxes, and jury duties
What is a representative jury?
A group of diverse people from different walks of life serving on a jury. Juries are supposed to be representative to ensure the case be considered from different views points and that individual prejudices or opinions do not get in the way of a fair trial.
