Logo
  • Home
  • Ask
  • Teen Help Network
  • About
    • About Judge Tom
    • Books
    • FAQs
    • Press Room
  • Your Rights
    • Crime and Punishment
    • Student Rights at School
    • You and Your Body
    • You and the Internet
    • Juvenile Justice System
    • LGBT Youth Rights
    • More Categories
  • Blog
  • Get Help
    • Videos
    • A Teenager’s Guide to Juvenile Court
    • Books
    • Research & Resources
  • Newsletter Signup

 

Q&A

Know your rights! Youth justice and juvenile law answers.

Askthejudge.info features regular updates from the news, important decisions from the nation′s courts, and online discussions with Judge Tom. Find out everything you need to know about youth rights, juvenile law and juvenile justice. AsktheJudge – Empowering youth one question at a time.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this site is made available to the general public and is not intended to serve as legal advice.You should consult a trained legal professional in your area for questions you may have about the laws affecting juveniles or any legal interpretations.

Copyright, 2014
Logo
December 16, 2014
Judge Tom
Blog, Videos
0

What is a grand jury and its function?

PreviousNext
juror summons

You have undoubtedly heard about the police shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York. Both men were unarmed and both deaths were investigated and presented to a grand jury for possible charges against the police officers involved.

In both cases, the grand jury declined to charge either officer with any criminal activity. So, what is the purpose of a “grand jury” and how does the system work? These are good questions in view of the community reaction to these decisions. Demonstrations across the country have led to further violence and arrests in the Garner and Brown cases.

juror summons

Photo by Robert Couse-Baker

A grand jury is defined as a group of citizens selected to consider whether someone should be charged with a crime or not. They meet behind closed doors and the local prosecutor presents its case to the members of the grand jury. Specific rules apply to the proceeding and they vary from state to state. Their job is to listen to the state’s evidence and vote yes or no regarding any criminal charges. They must find “probable cause” that the person committed the crime. “Probable cause” is a legal concept meaning something is more likely than not to have happened – that there is enough evidence to believe that someone probably committed a crime but actual guilt is decided by the higher standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The person under consideration is not “on trial” for any crime at this point. The grand jury only decides what if any charges should be filed. Their decision results in an “indictment” against the person who is then formally charged and then proceeds through the state’s criminal justice system. The defendant can plead guilty or not guilty and if the latter, then go to trial where a jury decides whether he or she committed the crime based on the higher standard.

Judge Tom explains the difference between a grand jury and a trial jury in the video below.

juvenile laws
Share this
Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

Find great resources in our

Teen Help Network


Leave A Comment Cancel reply