What is the racial makeup of the grand jury?
The grand jury consists of six white men, three white women, two black women and one black man. Nine votes are needed to indict.
What is a grand jury?
A group of people selected to sit on a jury that decide whether to return an indictment. The grand jury proceedings are held in private; the suspected criminal actor is usually not present at the proceedings. The grand jury acts as an investigative body, acting independently of either prosecuting attorney or judge.
How often do grand juries fail to indict?
Based on the influence of the prosecutor, who (other than the court reporter) is the only non-juror present and who selects the evidence to present, various studies have suggested that the rate of indictment by a grand jury ranges from approximately 95% to approximately 99%.
What cases require a grand jury?
The federal government is required to use grand juries for all felonies, though not misdemeanors, by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Do grand juries investigate?
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. Grand juries perform both accusatory and investigatory functions.
What percentage of grand juries are indict?
The indictment rate is about 98–99%; the grand jury can broaden (about 1% of the time) or narrow (about 3% of the time) the counts in the indictment as well.
Why do grand juries always indict?
Grand Juries Often Return an Indictment In part because there’s no one on the “other side” to contest the prosecutor’s evidence, grand juries almost always return an indictment as requested by the prosecutor.
Why are grand jury proceedings secret?
Grand jury proceedings are secret. No judge is present; the proceedings are led by a prosecutor; and the defendant has no right to present his case or (in many instances) to be informed of the proceedings at all. While court reporters usually transcribe the proceedings, the records are sealed.
Do all cases go to grand jury?
Grand juries are tools used as part of criminal procedure to bring an indictment against a defendant. However, they’re not always required and in some cases not even used.
Why do cases go to grand jury?
Grand Jury Proceedings Are Secret For the accused, it protects their reputation should no charges issue. For witnesses, it’s meant to allow them to testify more freely and truthfully. And for the prosecution, it provides control of information.
How long does a grand jury have to indict someone?
For the vast majority of federal crimes, the charge has to be brought within five years of when the crime was committed. The grand jury indictment is the official charging document, so what that means is that the indictment has to be returned by the grand jury within the five-year period.
Are grand juries secret?
What was The racial makeup of the Ferguson grand jury?
More in Ferguson, Mo., police shooting. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the racial makeup of the grand jury is similar to the racial breakdown of St. Louis County, which is about 24 percent black and about 68 percent white.
Who is the prosecutor in the Ferguson case?
Paul Fox, director of judicial administration for St. Louis County Circuit Court, confirmed the racial and gender makeup of the grand jury on Friday. St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch has said it will be several weeks before a decision is made on whether to charge Darren Wilson, the Ferguson officer who shot and killed Brown on Aug. 9.
What was The racial makeup of the St Louis grand jury?
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the racial makeup of the grand jury is similar to the racial breakdown of St. Louis County, which is about 24 percent black and about 68 percent white.