38 Facts About Grand jury

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 jury is so named because traditionally it has more jurors than a trial jury, sometimes called a petit jury.

Grand jury proceedings are, in the first instance, at the instigation of the government or other prosecutors, and ex parte and in secret deliberation.

The grand jury was later recognized by King John in Magna Carta in 1215 on demand of the nobility.

Grand jury can be said to have "celebrated" its 800th birthday in 2015, because a precursor to the grand jury is defined in Article 61, the longest of the 63 articles of Magna Carta, called Magna Carta Libertatum executed on 15 June 1215 by King John and by the Barons.

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Grand jury immediately petitioned the Old Bailey on a writ of habeas corpus, but the Old Bailey said it did not have jurisdiction over prisoners in the Tower of London, so Cooper had to wait for the next session of the Court of King's Bench.

The second Watergate grand jury indicted seven lawyers in the White House, including former Attorney General John Mitchell, and named President Nixon as a "secret, un-indicted, co-conspirator".

However, at the assizes, the grand jury generally consisted of gentlemen of high standing in the county.

Charge having been delivered, the grand jury withdrew to their own room, having received the bills of indictment.

Only the witnesses for the prosecution were examined, as the function of the grand jury was merely to inquire whether there was sufficient ground to put the accused on trial.

Grand jury's functions were gradually made redundant by the development of committal proceedings in magistrates' courts from 1848 onward when the Jervis Acts, such as the Justices Protection Act 1848, codified and greatly expanded the functions of magistrates in pre-trial proceedings; these proceedings developed into almost a repeat of the trial itself.

In 1933 the grand jury ceased to function in England, under the Administration of Justice Act 1933 and was entirely abolished in 1948, when a clause from 1933 saving grand juries for offences relating to officials abroad was repealed by the Criminal Justice Act 1948.

Grand jury was introduced in Scotland, solely for high treason, a year after the union with England, by the Treason Act 1708, an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain.

An indictment was then preferred in court and the witnesses endorsed on it were called over and sworn; on which the Grand jury retired to the exchequer chambers and the witnesses were conducted to a room near it, whence they were called to be examined separately.

Two solicitors for the crown were present at the examination but no one else; and after they had finished and the sense of the Grand jury was collected, the indictment was returned a "true bill", if the charges were found proved, or "ignoramus" if doubtful.

Grand jury jurors were usually the largest local payers of rates, and therefore tended to be the larger landlords, and on retiring they selected new members from the same background.

Grand jury controlled the boards of guardians and appointed the dispensary doctors, regulated the diet of paupers, inflicted fines and administered the law at petty sessions.

Grand jury juries were eventually replaced by democratically elected County Councils by the Local Government Act 1898, as regards their administrative functions.

The grand jury would then appoint the complaining party to exercise essentially the same authority as a state attorney general has, that is, a general power of attorney to represent the state in the case.

Grand jury served to screen out incompetent or malicious prosecutions.

An American federal grand jury has from 16 to 23 jurors, with twelve votes required to return an indictment.

All grand jury proceedings are conducted behind closed doors, without a presiding judge.

The grand jury would evaluate charges and return what was called a "true bill " if the charges were to proceed.

Grand jury existed in New South Wales for a short period in the 1820s.

Grand jury juries met in Sydney, Parramatta, Windsor and other places.

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In South Australia, the first grand jury sat on 13 May 1837, but they were abolished in 1852.

Grand jury juries were introduced by the Judicature Act 1874 and have been used on a very limited number of occasions.

Trial by Grand jury was introduced in the Cape Colony by Richard Bourke, Lieutenant Governor and acting Governor of the colony between 1826 and 1828.

Grand jury continued in operation until 1885, by which time the Cape was under responsible government, when it was abolished by Act 17 of 1885 of the Cape Parliament.

Grand jury decided whether to dismiss the charges or, if not, whether the case was a delit or a crime.

Delits went to the tribunal de police correctionnelle of the arrondissement, while for crimes the directeur de Grand jury convoked the Grand jury d'accusation of the arrondissement, in order to get an indictment.

The directeur du Grand jury drew up the bill of indictment summarising the charges to be presented to the Grand jury d'accusation.

The Grand jury then decided by majority vote whether there were sufficient grounds for the case to go to the tribunal criminel of the departement.

Functions of the Grand jury d'accusation were prescribed in the law of 1791 passed by the Constituent Assembly and were maintained and re-enacted in the Code des Delits et des Peines of 3 Brumaire, Year 4 and this was the operative law until it was abolished in 1808.

Grand jury proceedings were held in the territory from 1963 until 1972.

Grand jury juries continued in operation after the transfer to the colony to the Crown in 1807.

Grand jury promulgated the Ordinance of 29 November 1853 which abolished the grand jury.

Grand jury juries have been considered one colonial body representative of local opinion and the Colonial Secretary's support for Kennedy upholding the abolition inspired a round of agitation for a local voice in government decision-making.