Offenses are not brought before a grand jury, but indicted by “information” from the prosecutor`s office. In the U.S. Armed Forces, a Section 32 hearing is used for a similar purpose. If a named person is not subpoenaed to testify pursuant to JM 9-11.150 and does not request to testify ex officio (see JM 9-11.152), the prosecutor is encouraged, in appropriate cases, to inform that person in a timely manner before laying charges in order to give him or her an opportunity to testify before the grand jury. subject to the conditions set forth in JM 9-11.152. Notification would not be appropriate in obvious routine cases or where such action would jeopardize the investigation or prosecution because of the likelihood of escape, destruction or production of evidence, endangerment of other witnesses, undue delay or incompatibility with the objectives of justice. Hennepin County, Minnesota (to which Minneapolis belongs) holds a grand jury at all times. Each grand jury has a four-month term, usually meets one day a week, and focuses almost exclusively on murder cases. County grand juries develop areas that can be explored in two ways: jury interests and public complaints. Public complaints will be treated confidentially. The protection of whistleblowers is one of the main reasons for the confidentiality of the grand jury`s work. The United States The Lawyers` Guide states that prosecutors must “recognize that the grand jury is an independent body whose responsibilities include not only investigating and prosecuting crimes, but also protecting citizens from unfounded criminal charges” and that the purposes of investigations have the right and “may require or may require the opportunity to: to tell the grand jury their side of the story.” [25] The final option is to halt the trial and take the case to court, with a jury deciding whether the government can prove beyond a doubt all the elements of the crime against you.
While this approach may be the riskiest, it also gives a sense of confidence. (C) A government attorney may disclose any grand jury case to another federal grand jury. 2. The provision that the grand jury must consist of a minimum of 16 members and no more than 23 members perpetuates the current law, 28 U.S.C. 419 [now 18 U.S.C. 3321] (Grand jurors; Number if less than necessary). Any statement made by the defendant may be used in future proceedings against him. Therefore, the decision to testify is important. Generally, when the defendant testifies before grand juries, he or she first sets out his or her side of the story.
Then, a prosecutor will ask follow-up questions and can use this opportunity to get more information about the incident. The right of the grand jury can be waived, even by a plea agreement. A valid waiver must be made in a public court and after informing the defendant of the nature of the charge and the rights of the defendant. [15] Paragraph (d).—The amendment clarifies that recording devices may be used to gather evidence at grand jury meetings. In 262 cases, documents presented at a public trial and filed in public records revealed details of the grand jury investigation. These documents are, of course, accessible to all who wish to do so, including the objectives of the investigations. [There are] two documents commonly found in public records that usually reveal the identities of witnesses and targets. The first document is an authorization from the Department of Justice to a U.S.
prosecutor to ask the court for the immunity of a witness. The second document is the court order, which grants immunity from prosecution to the witness and obliges him to testify and provide the requested information. However, notification of these individuals is not necessarily necessary and, in some cases, the requested information may have reached the grand jury from such a variety of sources that it is impractical to include these sources in the disclosure process. While Douglas Oil notes that secrecy under Rule 6(e) “protects the innocent defendant from disclosure of the charge against him to the grand jury,” it is appropriate to leave it to the court to decide whether this interest requires direct representation by the grand jury`s objective at that time. If it is deemed necessary to protect the identity of these other persons, it would be permissible for the government or the court to notify these other persons directly and, therefore, the rule does not preclude such action. These witnesses may supplement their testimony with the testimony of others. The decision as to whether these requests are granted or denied after hearing testimony from the target or subject, or whether proposed witnesses are invited to testify, is at the discretion of the grand jury. In making such motions, it must be kept in mind that the grand jury was never intended, and is not, intended to be an opposing trial or an arbiter of guilt or innocence. See, e.g., United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S.
338, 343 (1974). (D) A government attorney may disclose any grand jury case involving foreign intelligence, counterintelligence (as defined in 50 U.S.C. 3003), or foreign intelligence information (as defined in Rule 6(e)(3)(D)(iii)) to any federal law enforcement, intelligence, protection officer, immigration, defence or national security to assist the officer receiving the information in the performance of his or her duties. A government prosecutor may also disclose any grand jury case that, in the United States or elsewhere, involves a threat of attack or serious hostility by a foreign power or its agent, a threat of sabotage or domestic or international terrorism, or clandestine intelligence activities of any intelligence agency or network of a foreign power. or by its agent. to any appropriate federal, state, state, tribal Indian or foreign government official to prevent or respond to such threats or activities. After reviewing the investigators` information and the information they receive from conversations with those involved, the prosecutor decides whether or not to refer the case to the grand jury. When a person is charged, he or she is officially informed that he or she is suspected of having committed a crime. The indictment contains basic information informing the person of the charges against him. Neither the accused nor his or her lawyer have the right to appear before the grand jury in the federal trial or to present a defence. Because the process is so one-sided, the grand jury issues an indictment in the vast majority of cases.
A New York state judge once said that prosecutors have so much influence over grand juries that they could get them to “indict a ham sandwich.” However, there are cases where a grand jury, even if it hears only one part of the case, dismisses the indictment and the prosecutor is unable to proceed.