• Explain The Purpose, Functions And Types Of Grand Juries

Have you ever received the “dreaded” jury summons? If you have then you are more than likely familiar with the process. However, if you have not ever received a jury summons or been selected for jury duty allow me to explain it. A jury summons is the notification that is sent to randomly selected individuals of the community making them aware that they are to appear for jury duty or jury selection. The notification will indicate the date and time in which the individual is to appear. While it is understood that jury duty or jury selection could be a bit “inconvenient” for some individuals it is actually one of the most civic duties you can perform. There are two main types of juries within the federal trial courts: trial juries which are also known as petit juries and grand juries (“Types of juries”, 2017). This paper seeks to provide insight and explain the purpose, functions, and powers of the grand jury.

Petit juries consist of 6 to 12 citizens and together they decide if the defendant committed the crime as charged in a criminal case based on the facts of the case and are generally public with private pondering.

In contrast, grand juries are larger than petit juries and consist of 16 to 23 citizens. The purpose of a grand jury is to determine if there is probable cause to believe the individual has committed a crime and should proceed to trial (“Types of juries”, 2017) and are not public. In accordance with the Fifth Amendment, no individual shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise notorious crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury and is assured for certain offenses (Worrall,

2017).
The grand jury performs significant investigative functions and is very influential in terms of being able to subpoena witnesses and documents. As mentioned before grand jury proceedings are not generally open to the public and are in fact very much undisclosed. Several reasons for this were given in landmark case United States v. Rose (215 F. 2d 617 [1954]). The reasons for such secrecy are as follows: (1) to put a stop to the escape of those whose outcome may be contemplated; (2) to insure the highest sovereignty to the grand jury in its pondering, and to stop the defendant or their friends/family from interfering; (3) to prevent perjury or tampering with witnesses; (4) to encourage free and untrammeled disclosures; and (5) to protect the innocent accused (Worrall, 2017).
Along with the investigative functions of the grand jury come investigative powers. For instance in United States v. Calandra (414 U.S. 338 [1974]) it was held that a grand jury may require the production of evidence or the statement of a witness as it considers suitable (Worrall, 2017). In most cases the grand jury will subpoena the witness or evidence. There are two types of subpoenas: one requires a person to appear and the other requires that the documents/evidence be provided. The grand jury can also offer grants of immunity to individuals in return for their statement or testimony. ). In the state of Florida the grand jury indictment is only required in capital or life imprisonment cases (Worrall, 2017).