Historically, Grand Juries, an institution inherited from England, were designed to act as buffers between over-zealous and/or overreaching prosecutors and anyone from the public who might be accused of a crime. In other words, it was originally designed to protect individuals. The members serving on a Grand Jury (the “Grand Jurors”) are lay people from the community.
A Grand Jury often meets for months at a time and usually considers multiple matters, while a trial jury, called a petit jury, only meets to hear a single case before it.
A petit jury is usually comprised of from 6 to 12 members, while a Grand Jury is usually comprised of from 16 to 23 members, depending on which federal or state law is applicable.
A Grand Jury will examine proposed criminal cases based upon presentations by the prosecutor and testimony of witnesses. In current practice, an accused who is the subject of a Grand Jury proceeding may not even know that he or she is the subject of the proceeding, and does not even have the right to appear and make his or her case for innocence before the Grand Jury votes on whether to issue an indictment (called a “true bill”) or refuses to issue an indictment (called a “no true bill”).
And anyone who does appear before a Grand Jury generally does not have the right to be accompanied before the Grand Jury by counsel- so one can often see the spectacle of a person testifying before a Grand Jury with their counsel outside in the hall and they must leave the Grand Jury room (where secrecy prevails) and step outside from time to time to consult with counsel.
An indictment only indicates that at least a majority of the members of the Grand Jury have determined, based upon the presentation by the prosecutor and the testimony of witnesses, that there appears to be sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges to trial, and that the prosecutor can proceed with a criminal case. It is definitely not a finding of guilt or innocence. Guilt or innocence is ultimately determined by a petit jury (or a judge if a jury trial has been waived by the defendant).
Not every criminal case is based upon an indictment from a Grand Jury. Some criminal cases may be brought by the issuance by the prosecutor of a charging document sometimes called an “information” or simply a criminal complaint.
Finally, many non-lawyers possibly have not heard what is common knowledge among lawyers: that a prosecutor directing the activities of a Grand Jury could indict a ham sandwich.
