Joshua Espinoza The Grand Jury System CJ :300 9/21/2024 San Diego State University Introduction: When it comes to the court system, there are very important roles that each part of the court plays. They also must consider the rights and well-being of the person being accused of the crime they have committed whether they are guilty or innocent. When the defendant is on trial, they also must have a speedy and fair trial as well, just as the constitution states, so that is when they use a jury to help determine whether someone is guilty or innocent. The jury system, specifically the grand jury, there are some possible ways to help implement a better way of picking your grand jury candidates. Singer (2012) “Although …show more content…
So, when it comes to deciding whether someone is guilty or not, the ultimate decision comes from the jury, as they are the ones who get to decide. When going through a grand jury, the selective process is very different as well as how they meet, selective jury, everything is public but when it comes to grand jury, they meet in private. But it is not the grand jury’s’ duty to decide if someone is innocent or not, their sole purpose is to find enough evidence and probable cause to send them to a court trial to determine whether innocent or guilty. Pioneer Law Office (2024) states that “grand juries have evolved into a powerful investigative tool for prosecutors. Grand jurors are selected from the same pool as regular jurors, but defense attorneys do not play any role in challenging or selecting the jurors.” Grand juries have a different process in the way they work. They work privately without the defendant present, the prosecutor is allowed to give them information and their reasoning on why the defendant is guilty of the crime, all that happens behind closed doors. The Federal Grand Jury Reform Report and Bill of Rights (2000) “While some prosecutors may conduct grand jury proceedings with meticulous care and concern for fairness to targets, others may not. If abuse does occur, they will rarely come to light.”