What Procedure Is Often Used As An Alternative To The Grand Jury?

In California, a one thousand jury is a legal process common in federal and serious state felony cases whereby a jury of citizens from the customs convenes to evaluate whether at that place is sufficient evidence to charge or indict the target for criminal offenses.

Felony (as opposed to misdemeanor) in California are brought in one of ii ways:

Through an "information" filed past the district attorney after a preliminary hearing, or
Through an "indictment" brought by g juries.¹

Grand juries are dissimilar from the jury (technically known every bit the "petit jury") that ane finds at a criminal jury trial. Whereas the petit jury at a jury trial decides whether the accused is guilty or innocent—the grand jury'southward job is just to determine whether in that location is probable cause to believe that the defendant may have committed the crime.²

California proceedings

The specific procedures for creating grand juries are determined by each California county.ⁱⁱⁱ Criminal m jurors are selected at random from a pool of eligible citizens.^iv

From the defendant'southward perspective, the most interesting thing about grand juries is that the accused is non present at information technology—and is probably not even aware that information technology is occurring! ⁵

Instead, what occurs at this proceeding is that the prosecutor presents evidence (possibly including witness testimony) to brand the case that there is likely cause to charge the defendant with a criminal offence.^half-dozen

Instance : The district attorney of a California county has been investigating a suspected case of bribery of an executive officer involving Sal, a local police main. The DA thinks that he has enough prove to bring a example against Sal.

Thou jurors are called to hear the case against Sal. The DA presents them with documentary show and testimony past witnesses who claim that Sal asked them for bribes. The jury deliberates and determines that at that place is likely crusade to believe that Sal is guilty of accepting bribes.

The jury so issues an indictment of Sal, bringing bribery charges against him. This is the first fourth dimension Sal has heard anything about the charges. He will now have the charges tried at a regular jury trial.

Federal proceedings

Federal criminal charges may also be brought through a grand juror process run by the federal courts.

In fact, under the Fifth Subpoena to the U.Due south. Constitution, charges for serious federal felonies must be brought through indictment juries.⁷

Below, our California criminal defense attorneys⁸ address the following:

If, after reading this commodity, you would similar more data, we invite you to contact u.s. at Shouse Law Grouping.

i. What is a Yard Jury?

In California law, it is an independent torso made upward of a specified number of citizens of a particular county, whose job is to perform the following functions:

Determine whether or not charges should exist brought against a potential defendant in sure criminal cases, and
Ask into matters of ceremonious concern in the canton, such as county officers' salaries and the budgets and operations of canton governments.⁹

In short, they are an arm of the court. In this commodity, we volition focus on the start of these tasks—the criminal function of yard juries, not their civil office.

In some California counties (such as Placer County^x), the aforementioned jury focuses on both criminal and ceremonious matters. But about big counties (such as Contra Costa Canton,¹¹ Los Angeles County,¹² and San Francisco County¹³) divide the two functions betwixt unlike groups.¹⁴

1.1. When g juries are used in California criminal cases

California prosecutors must bring felony charges in 1 of two means:

They may hold a "preliminary hearing" before a guess or magistrate, at which the accused is present and represented by a criminal defense lawyer. If the judge determines later on the hearing that there is enough evidence to effort the defendant for the crime, so s/he will be charged through a document called an "information;"¹⁵ OR
They may concord a m juror proceeding, at which the defendant is non present. If the jury decides that there is probable crusade to try the defendant for the crime, and then south/he will be charged through a document called an "indictment."^xvi

Unlike a preliminary hearing, chiliad juries are held before the accused appears for an arraignment (the first step in the California criminal court process).

In California, the vast majority of felony charges are brought through the preliminary hearing/data procedure—non through grand juries and criminal indictments.¹⁷

District attorneys are more likely to use the grand jury indictment procedure if any of the following are true:

In that location is high public interest in the case,
A preliminary hearing would take more fourth dimension than a grand juror hearing,
The prosecution plans to call witnesses who are children or who for other reasons would not practise well under the cross-examination that would occur at a preliminary hearing,
The case against the accused seems weak—and the prosecutor wants a hazard to "test" it out before jurors,
The case involves wrongdoing by a public officeholder, and/or
The witnesses are incarcerated in state prison house.¹⁸

Instance : Constabulary have just informed the district attorney of Los Angeles County that they have a doubtable in a very high-profile murder case. News about the murder has been making headlines for months.

The DA wants to file Penal Code 187 PC murder charges against the suspect—but they are concerned that the evidence against him is non terribly strong.

Fifty-fifty though the prosecutors could bring charges through a preliminary hearing and an information, they decide to call yard jurors to consider the charges instead. They know that the instance volition go a lot of publicity—and would similar to do a "exam run" of their evidence in front of jury members earlier they bring charges.

ane.2. When grand juries are used in federal courts

In contrast to California, where near criminal charges exercise not originate in the indictment procedure—the majority of federal felony charges are brought after an indictment

This is because the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that all prosecutions for "infamous" crimes come through 1000 juries.^nineteen

All the same, federal misdemeanors can be charged through an data—they do not require a jury to issue an indictment.²⁰

Also, federal felonies may be charged without an indictment proceeding if the defendant waives the right to be prosecuted in this way.²¹

one.three. What grand juries do

In theory, grand juries are supposed to make an objective determination of whether there is plenty bear witness to try a suspect for a law-breaking.

They are supposed to be non just a "sword" to assist the authorities prosecute criminals—only also a "shield" protecting criminal suspects from unjustified criminal charges.²²

In reality, it doesn't always work this fashion. The jury hears simply 1 side of the story—the prosecutor's side. Under these circumstances, there is a real danger that it will function only as a sword, not as a shield—and will vote to bring criminal charges that never should take been brought.²³

Unlike the juries in criminal or civil trials, which serve but for that i trial, m juries are oft formed to sit for a period of fourth dimension rather than a item matter. During this menstruation of fourth dimension, they may hear a number of indictment cases.²⁴

Example : In each calendar twelvemonth, San Francisco County selects iii (3) criminal/indictment grand juries. Each grand juror serves a term of iv (4) months. During that iv-calendar month period, the jury will see several times a calendar week and hear any criminal cases that happen to come in that time.²⁵

2. What is the California Indictment Process?

ii.i. Selection process

California grand juries must have at least the post-obit number of members:

Xx-three (23) in counties that have a population larger than four one thousand thousand (only Los Angeles Canton currently meets this criterion),
Eleven (xi) in counties that have a population of xx one thousand or less, and
Nineteen (xix) in all other counties.²⁶

Criminal thou juries in California are selected at random from the list of people eligible to serve on a "regular" jury (i.e., a "petit jury") in a criminal or civil trial.²⁷ Grand jurors should represent a cantankerous-section of the population that is eligible to serve on a jury at a jury trial.²⁸

In lodge to be eligible for yard jury service, a person must meet the post-obit requirements:

S/he must be a U.S. citizen;
S/he must be xviii or older;
Southward/he must have been a resident of the country and of the county for one (1) year immediately prior to beingness selected as a juror;
S/he must be "in possession of his natural faculties, of ordinary intelligence, of sound judgment, and of off-white character"; and
Due south/he must take sufficient knowledge of English language.²⁹

In addition, each grand juror must meet the following "negative qualifications":

S/he must non be currently serving equally a trial juror in California;
S/he must non take finished serving equally a California thousand juror within the past year;
S/he must not take been convicted of malfeasance in public office or any California felony; and
S/he must not be serving as an elected public officer.³⁰

2.2. Proceedings

Indictment proceedings are very dissimilar from ordinary criminal trials.

Beginning, unlike most stages of California's criminal court process, this proceeding is not presided over past a judge.³¹ Instead, the prosecutor takes the atomic number 82 part in running these proceedings, as s/he makes the case that the criminal suspect should be charged with a crime.³²

2d, unlike criminal court proceedings, these proceedings are closed to the public and are held in hugger-mugger.³³

Third—and maybe almost strikingly—the proposed defendant is not permitted to be present at these proceedings. In fact, s/he will not even be notified that the proceeding is going on.³⁴

If—after weighing all the evidence presented to it—the jurors believe that the evidence would warrant a criminal confidence of the suspect by a trial jury, information technology may issue an indictment against the suspect.³⁵

The vote of the jurors does not need to exist unanimous for an indictment to exist issued. Instead, the following numbers of votes are needed:

At least fourteen (14) one thousand jurors in counties with populations larger than iv million;
At least viii (viii) grand jurors in counties with populations of twenty grand or smaller; and
At to the lowest degree twelve (12) grand jurors in all other counties.³⁶

Evidence rules

In a typical proceeding, the district chaser will nowadays evidence to the jurors, to bear witness that the criminal suspect is guilty of the law-breaking. This evidence may include:

Sworn testimony by witnesses,
Writings, material objects, or other tangible things, and
Deposition transcripts.³⁷

The California evidence rules that apply to California criminal trials also utilize to California thou juries³⁸–with one major exception.

Specifically, the hearsay rule does not apply in indictment proceedings to the sworn testimony of a law enforcement officeholder about a statement someone else made out of court, equally long every bit the law enforcement officer either:

Has five (five) years of police force enforcement experience, or
Has completed a preparation course on the investigation and reporting of cases and testifying at preliminary hearings.³⁹

The jurors are non required to hear whatsoever evidence for the accused. But if they have reason to believe that there is evidence available that tends to show the accused is not guilty, information technology can social club that bear witness to be produced.^twoscore

2.three. Accused's rights

As y'all can run into from the discussion above, the rights of a criminal suspect—the potential defendant—in a criminal grand jury proceeding are very limited. Merely that does not mean that they are nonexistent.

The most of import correct that a doubtable enjoys is gear up out in Penal Lawmaking 939.71 PC. This police force provides that the prosecutor must disembalm any evidence south/he is enlightened of that tends to prove that the suspect is innocent (this is known as "exculpatory testify").⁴¹

If the prosecutor does not fulfill this obligation at your proceeding, then you may exist able to get the charges confronting y'all dismissed through a Penal Code 995 motion.

Case : Ray is charged with sale or transportation of a controlled substance. He is first charged through an data and appears at a preliminary hearing. His testimony at the preliminary hearing leads the presiding judge to dismiss the charges against him.

But the district attorney and so turns effectually and submits the charges confronting Ray to a grand jury. At the indictment proceeding, the DA does non inform the jurors that the charges confronting Ray were dismissed after his preliminary hearing. The jurors make up one's mind to outcome an indictment against Ray.

The commune attorney has violated his obligation to disembalm exculpatory evidence. Because of this, the indictment against Ray is dismissed.⁴²

3. What is the Federal Process?

Equally we discussed above, grand juries are used far more than often for federal felony charges than they are for state criminal charges.

The procedure for federal one thousand juries is similar to that for California 1000 juries.

Federal chiliad juries must accept sixteen (sixteen) to xx-iii (23) members.⁴³ At least twelve (12) of the jurors must vote to event an indictment.⁴⁴

The members of federal grand juries are likewise supposed to represent a fair cantankerous-section of the customs where the proceeding will take place. Therefore, like California g juries, they are selected at random from federal jury lists.⁴⁵

Only the following people may exist nowadays at the proceeding:

The jurors themselves,
Attorneys for the government (federal prosecutors),
Whatever witnesses being questioned,
Interpreters if needed, and
Court reporters.⁴⁶

As with California thou juries, the accused is not typically present at the proceeding—and the proceeding takes place in secret.⁴⁷

4. What is Serving as a Witness like?

If you receive a subpoena to bear witness earlier, you volition likely have many questions about the procedure and your role and rights in it.

At that place are a few of import things to keep in mind if you are called upon to be a witness.

First, you may not bring a lawyer with yous into the proceeding.⁴⁸ Merely that does non mean it is not in your interest to hire a lawyer—you may (and should) consult a criminal defense force lawyer both before and subsequently your testimony.

Second, you lot are required to respond to the amendment and testify honestly. Failure to do so can result in charges for contempt of court or Penal Code 118 perjury.

Finally, as Beverly Hills criminal defense lawyer Neil Shouse⁴⁹ puts it:

"Under Penal Code 924.2, grand jurors are supposed to keep secret everything that goes on in an indictment proceeding. This obligation of secrecy does not use to indictment witnesses, who legally may talk about their testimony with the press or anyone else. BUT that doesn't mean it'south a expert thought for a witness to practice so. The exact details of the case and your function in it may mean that information technology's not in your all-time interest to disclose what went on when you were in the courtroom."

receptionists with laptops and headsets on

Call us for a free consultation.

For data in Nevada, please come across our page on thou jurors in Nevada.

Legal References:

^one California Penal Code 682 PC – Prosecution by indictment or information; exceptions. ("Every public offense must be prosecuted past indictment or information, except: 1. Where proceedings are had for the removal of ceremonious officers of the state; two. Offenses arising in the militia when in actual service, and in the state and naval forces in the time of war, or which the state may proceed, with the consent of Congress, in fourth dimension of peace; iii. Misdemeanors and infractions; 4. A felony to which the defendant has pleaded guilty to the complaint before a magistrate, where permitted by police force."); California state constitution. Annotation that there are also civil thou juries. Every yr, superior courtroom judges seek out jurors to determine which public officials, departments and agencies of local regime it volition investigate during its term of office.

²Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors, at three.

³ Penal Code 905 PC – Almanac cartoon. ("In all counties in that location shall be at least one 1000 jury drawn and impaneled in each twelvemonth.")

⁴ Penal Code 896 PC – Pick and listing by court; investigation; jurors. ("The court shall list the persons and so selected and required by the order to serve as grand jurors during the ensuing financial twelvemonth of the county, or until a new list of jurors is provided, and shall at one time place this list in the possession of the jury commissioner.")

^five See Johnson 5. Superior Courtroom (1975) 15 Cal.3d 248, 254.

⁶ Penal Lawmaking 935 PC – Advent of district chaser.

⁷ U.Due south. Const., amend. Five. ("No person shall be held to answer for a upper-case letter, or otherwise infamous law-breaking, unless on a presentment or indictment, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in bodily service in time of State of war or public danger; nor shall whatever person be subject for the same crime to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall exist compelled in any criminal instance to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall individual property be taken for public use, without just compensation.")

^viii Our California criminal defence attorneys have local Los Angeles law offices in Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Pomona, Torrance, Van Nuys, W Covina, and Whittier. We have additional law offices conveniently located throughout the state in Orange County, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Jose, Oakland, the San Francisco Bay area, and several nearby cities.

⁹ Penal Code 888 PC

See besides Penal Code 925 PC – County officers, departments or functions; operations, accounts and records; investigations and reports. ("[T]he board of supervisors pursuant to Section 25250 of the Government Code; this provision shall not be construed to limit the power of the [jurors] to investigate and written report on the operations, accounts, and records of the officers, departments, or functions of the canton. The [jurors] may enter into a joint contract with the lath of supervisors to employ the services of an expert as provided for in Section 926.")

See also Penal Code 927 PC

^x See Superior Courtroom of Placer Canton: The Placer Canton 1000 Jury.

¹¹ See Most Grand Juries, California Grand Jurors' Association Website.

¹² See Los Angeles Canton website.

¹³ See People five. Brown (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 916, 921. ("The Metropolis and County of San Francisco has dual juries—ane is of the and so-called watchdog variety which has civil investigatory duties. (§ 904.half-dozen; see Petersen, The California Grand Jury Arrangement: A Review and Suggestions for Reform (1974) 5 Pacific L.J. 1, 6.) The other is a traditional indictment jury. It is solely this indictment jury which concerns us here.")

¹⁴ Penal Code 904.vi PC

¹⁵ Penal Code 682 PC – Prosecution by indictment or information; exceptions, endnote i, in a higher place.

See also Penal Code 872 PC — California preliminary hearings; order holding defendant to respond; probable crusade; basis of finding. ("(a) If, however, it appears from the examination that a public offense has been committed, and there is sufficient cause to believe that the defendant is guilty, the magistrate shall make or indorse on the complaint an order, signed past him or her, to the post-obit event: "It appearing to me that the offense in the inside complaint mentioned (or any offense, according to the fact, stating generally the nature thereof), has been committed, and that there is sufficient cause to believe that the within named A.B. is guilty, I gild that he or she be held to answer to the same."")

¹⁶ Penal Code 682 PC – Prosecution by indictment or data; exceptions. ("Every public criminal offence must be prosecuted past indictment or information, except: 1. Where proceedings are had for the removal of civil officers of the state; 2. Offenses arising in the militia when in bodily service, and in the land and naval forces in the time of state of war, or which the state may keep, with the consent of Congress, in fourth dimension of peace; 3. Misdemeanors and infractions; iv. A felony to which the accused has pleaded guilty to the complaint before a magistrate, where permitted past law.")

¹⁷ See Nigh Grand Juries, California Grand Jurors' Association Website.

^eighteen See aforementioned.

¹⁹ U.Southward. Const., amend. V, endnote 7, above.

²⁰ Knuckles 5. The states (1937) 301 U.S. 492, 495. ("The offense with which appellant was charged was not a petty offense within the proviso, just it was a misdemeanor of a kind, as the certificate recites, not subject area to infamous punishment — therefore open to prosecution by information.")

²¹ Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 7 – The Indictment and the Information. ("(b) Waiving Indictment. An criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 twelvemonth may be prosecuted past information if the defendant—in open courtroom and after being brash of the nature of the charge and of the accused's rights—waives prosecution by indictment.")

²² Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors, at 3.

²³ See Frederick P. Hafetz and John M. Pellettieri, Time to Reform the Chiliad Jury, The Champion, January./Feb. 1999.

²⁴ Come across, due east.g., People v. Brown supra at 922. ("Three indictment juries, each composed of 19 jurors, are chosen per calendar twelvemonth to serve successive 4–month terms.")

²⁵ See same.

²⁶ Penal Lawmaking 888.2 PC

²⁷ Penal Lawmaking 904.6 PC – Canton or city and county; ane additional indictment jury; equal opportunity; jurisdiction.

²⁸ Come across same.

²⁹ Penal Lawmaking 893 PC – Competency; incompetency [for grand jury members].

³⁰ See same.

³¹ See, eastward.grand., Us v. Williams (1992) 504 U.Due south. 36, 48. ("And in its day-to-day functioning, the k jury by and large operates without the interference of a presiding estimate.")

³² Penal Code 935 PC

³³ Johnson v. Superior Court (1975), fifteen Cal.3d 248, 254.

³⁴ See same.

³⁵ Penal Code 939.8 PC

³⁶ Penal Code 940 PC – Concurrence of jurors; number; endorsement. ("An indictment cannot be found without concurrence of at least 14 thou jurors in a county in which the required number of members of the chiliad jury prescribed by Section 888.two is 23, at least eight thou jurors in a canton in which the required number of members is eleven, and at least 12 1000 jurors in all other counties. When and so found it shall be endorsed, "A true nib," and the endorsement shall be signed by the foreman of the chiliad jury.")

³⁷ Penal Code 939.6 PC – Reception of evidence. ("(a) Subject to subdivision (b), in the investigation of a charge, the grand jury shall receive no other evidence than what is: (one) Given by witnesses produced and sworn earlier the [j; (two) Furnished past writings, material objects, or other things presented to the senses; or (3) Contained in a deposition that is admissible under subdivision three of Department 686.")

³⁸ Come across same. ("(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the grand jury shall not receive any prove except that which would be admissible over objection at the trial of a criminal action, but the fact that bear witness that would have been excluded at trial was received by the g jury does not render the indictment void where sufficient competent evidence to support the indictment was received by the [jurors].")

³⁹ Run into same. ("(c) Yet Section 1200 of the Evidence Code, as to the bear witness relating to the foundation for admissibility into evidence of documents, exhibits, records, and other items of concrete prove, the prove to back up the indictment may be based in whole or in role upon the sworn testimony of a law enforcement officer relating the statement of a declarant fabricated out of courtroom and offered for the truth of the thing asserted. Whatsoever law enforcement officer testifying every bit to a hearsay argument pursuant to this subdivision shall accept either five years of law enforcement experience or have completed a preparation course certified by the Committee on Peace Officer Standards and Preparation that includes training in the investigation and reporting of cases and testifying at preliminary hearings.")

⁴⁰ Penal Lawmaking 939.vii PC – Evidence for accused, authority to exclude; weighing bear witness; social club for production of explanatory evidence. ("The [jurors] is non required to hear evidence for the defendant, but it shall counterbalance all the bear witness submitted to it, and when it has reason to believe that other evidence within its reach will explain abroad the charge, it shall order the bear witness to be produced, and for that purpose may require the district chaser to consequence process for the witnesses.")

⁴¹ Penal Code 939.71 PC – Exculpatory evidence; duties of prosecutor. ("(a) If the prosecutor is aware of exculpatory evidence, the prosecutor shall inform the [jurors] of its nature and being. Once the prosecutor has informed the grand jury of exculpatory bear witness pursuant to this department, the prosecutor shall inform the [jurors] of its duties under Section 939.7. If a failure to comply with the provisions of this section results in substantial prejudice, information technology shall be grounds for dismissal of the portion of the indictment related to that evidence.")

⁴² Based on Johnson v. Superior Courtroom, endnote 33, above.

⁴³ Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule vi. ("(a)(one) In General. When the public involvement and so requires, the court must order that 1 or more grand juries exist summoned. A grand [jurors] must have 16 to 23 members, and the court must club that enough legally qualified persons be summoned to meet this requirement.")

⁴⁴ See aforementioned. ("(f) INDICTMENT AND RETURN.

⁴⁵ Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors, at 5-6.

⁴⁶ Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Dominion 6.

⁴⁷ Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors, at ix-ten.

⁴⁸ Penal Lawmaking 939 PC

⁴⁹ Beverly Hills criminal defence force lawyer Neil Shouse is the Managing Attorney of Shouse Law Group. He is a former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, where he worked on circuitous, high profile gang, murder, and firearms cases. Now, Shouse has turned the inside knowledge he gained equally a prosecutor into boggling expertise in criminal defense law, including highly sensitive g jury proceedings . . . thank you to which he frequently appears as a guest legal commentator on national television. He appears in criminal court defending clients throughout California.