Grand jury
A grand jury (literally 'grand jury') is the entirety of the jury who, under US criminal procedure law, decides in a private trial whether the facts and allegations presented by the prosecution justify an indictment and eventual trial. It is called the Grand Jury because the number of jurors is relatively high compared to a regular jury .
background
Under US federal law, a grand jury can consist of up to 23 people, but can have a minimum of 16 members. In the opinion of the grand jury, there must be sufficient probable cause , otherwise the proceedings will be discontinued. In state law, a grand jury decides by a majority of 12 votes. There are also grand juries in most states. However, they are only required in around half of the states. In the other states, the district attorney decides who is responsible for bringing charges. Another function of the grand jury is to investigate corruption in public administration and to review the conditions of detention in prisons.
The petit jury or trial jury , on the other hand, only consists of 12 people. As a rule, it must decide unanimously in criminal proceedings. In criminal matters it decides whether the accused is guilty or innocent, in civil matters it decides whether or not the complaint is upheld or dismissed. In both proceedings it is called upon to decide on the question of fact, in particular the assessment of evidence. The court, on the other hand, decides on the manner in which evidence is taken, the admissibility of individual pieces of evidence and, in the case of a guilty verdict, the penalty.
All juries consist of community citizens, whose selection should represent the population average.
In many US states, the grand jury has now been replaced by a procedure in which the prosecutor must first submit information or accusation to the competent judge, who then holds a preliminary hearing with the participation of the accused and his legal adviser . Only then will the decision be made to bring charges.
Web links
- American Bar Association: How Courts Work. Courts and Legal Procedure. Grand Juries.
- American Bar Association: How Courts Work. Courts and Legal Procedure. The Role of Juries.
- American Bar Association: How Courts Work. Courts and Legal Procedure. Trial juries.
- About the decision in Ferguson: How did the grand jury come to the decision? Interview with correspondent Sabrina Fritz. tagesschau.de, November 25, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ probable cause German-English dictionary dict.cc
- ^ Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: Rule 6. In: Cornell Law School. Retrieved January 28, 2020 (English).
- ↑ How Does a Grand Jury Work? FindLaw.com
- ^ American Bar Association: How Courts Work. Steps in a Trial. Pre-trial Court Appearances in a Criminal Case.
