Grand jury indictment

I was informed by my attorney today that my case went before the grand jury this morning.  The grand jury returned a “true bill” indicating it found cause to make the charge of my indictment (indecent liberties with a minor).

An Indictment

An indictment is a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offense.  It consists of a short and plain statement of the time, place and manner in which the defendant is alleged to have committed the offense.  Indictments even for the most complex of cases are seldom more than one page. Indictable offenses (generally felonies) are normally tried by a jury.  What surprised me in all of this was that I wasn’t arrested before I was indicted.  Only a judge decides whether you can be arrested or not and that is based on evidence provided by the police and trust me, they lie.

The Grand Jury

When someone is charged with a felony crime (or any crime where the defendant’s liberty is at stake), prosecutors have a choice of either presenting the indictment to a judge or a grand jury.  In either case, the judge or grand jury determines probably cause and if so determined will hold the defendant over for trial.  In other words, if neither finds probable cause your case is essentially dismissed.

Let’s explore a little about why the prosecutor (in my case the District Attorney’s office) might go one way or the other.  The DA will utilize the process that stands the highest chance of them getting an indictment.  This is almost always a grand jury, as getting probable cause from a judge is far more difficult.

A grand jury is a type of jury that determines if there is enough evidence for trial.  This determination is done by viewing the indictment and the evidence associated with a case.  Here’s the catch though: the prosecutor is the one that does all of the presenting.  The presentation and evidence is swayed by the prosecutor.

Most countries outside of the US have long since abandoned grand juries as they aren’t effective.  A grand jury is made up or ordinary citizens and was put in place as a check point for the court system.  The prosecutor has to convince the grand jury to believe the case and the prosecutors evidence.  The problem is that the jury is made up of layman citizens who don’t know about the law and also aren’t familiar with the realities of it.  Grand juries seldom return “no-bill” verdicts and that is why prosecutors love to use the grand jury path.  Grand juries are a quick and easy way to get an indictment.

Are grand juries unconstitutional?

I was not at my grand jury hearing nor was my attorney.  He said he could go, but that the prosecution would just ask for dismissal and take it before a judge instead.  More risky, but still an effective means to get a “true bill” on the indictment.  Many argue that today’s grand juries are unconstitutional, and I would agree.

During a grand jury hearing the defendant is generally not represented by council (and in my case not even invited).  Defendants are also not allowed to call witnesses to refute the evidence provided by the prosecution.  Research has show that grand juries seldom return decisions out of favor with the prosecutor.

Am I surprised?  No, my attorney warned me about this.  The system is stacked against me.  My attorney told me that the word of a child is enough to get a grand jury to “true bill” an indictment and more than likely a judge to do the same.  Remember, many grand jury member’s are parents and judges are elected officials (how would you feel if the judge you elected let an accused child molester go?)

I sure hope my trial is more fair than this.  Thus far I’ve been accused of a crime (a sick crime) and beyond the inaccurate testimony the police recorded, I haven’t been able to defend myself yet.  Sure doesn’t feel like I am innocent until proven guilty.

Then I found out my mugshot was available online.

Photo credit: dmuth