Comments on: Grand Jury Duty

By: Kate Nepveu

Kate Nepveu — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 14:59:37 +0000

Jury nullification is, of course, a power of juries, not a right. I hope you find your jury service interesting.

By: arbitrary aardvark

arbitrary aardvark — Wed, 03 Sep 2003 03:07:25 +0000

Somebody said the grand jury is a forgotten 5th branch of government. Be that as it may, the grand jury need not limit itself to the ham sandwiches brought by the prosecutors (as you say, most drug cases.)It has the authority to investigate government officials, compel testimony, bring charges against the highest. See grisham’s runaway jury for the potential. An occasional grand jury run amok. actually doing its constitutional duty, would put a big scare into the drug warriors (and other examples of overreaching federal authority.) Go get em and if you need smoking guns email me.

By: Pio

Pio — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 02:42:49 +0000

“Don’t listen to what people on the Internet try to tell you to do” What, people like you? Anyway. the grand jury system is completely and totally screwed up. The prosecutor has complete control over what info you see, so you should definitely remember to be very sceptical. Oh, and like the “anon” says, you don’t have to indict anyone on any laws you dont agree with, including drug laws, no matter what the law says, how incontrevertable (sp?) the evidence, nor what the prosecutor tells you. It’s jury nullification, one of our more unknown checks and balances, but still there. check this out for more on grand juries: http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-476es.html Have fun (if that can be said about jury duty) and try hard.

By: Andrew Hagen

Andrew Hagen — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 19:53:48 +0000

Being on a Grand Jury is an important duty to which only some citizens are called. Take it seriously and do a good job. Don’t listen to what people on the Internet try to tell you to do. Just focus on the job and carry it out to the best of your abilities while being true to your responsibilities. The greatest reward you could ask for is to know you did well. Good luck.

By: Anon

Anon — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 19:28:23 +0000

Remember, if you are opposed to drug laws, you don’t have to indict people on drug charges.

By: currus

currus — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 16:15:42 +0000

Amen to that! The cliche is that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. The reason is the standard of persuasion is so much lower for indictment as opposed to conviction. All one has to do to obtain an indictment is establish a prima facie case. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required for conviction. So be prepared to see only the outlines of the case.

By: williamsburger

williamsburger — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 06:45:09 +0000

AUSAs believe, as a rule, that they can get grand juries to do whatever they want, whenever they want to. They are almost always right. You should keep an open mind—and most of the cases they bring before you may be sufficient to indict—but you can do your country a service by maintaining a deep, deep skepticism.

By: pathos

pathos — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 05:12:13 +0000

Ugh. I was on a regular (petit) jury once. One of the most stressful experiences of my life. Criminal case. Obviously guilty defendants. (Prosecution: “Armed Carjacking. Bruised victim. Loaded weapon found in car.” Defense: “No, he lent us the car. We were about to bring it back.”) But the relatively easy decision to convict did not make it any easier to actually decide on someone else’s fate. It gave me horrible case of acne for the first time since puberty.