grand juries
Charge-deciding bodies
A grand jury is a body of citizens convened to decide whether evidence warrants bringing criminal charges against someone.
Unlike a trial jury, which determines guilt, a grand jury determines only whether there's enough to proceed: The grand jury returned an indictment.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, and the accused has no right to appear or present a defense.
The term grand reflects the larger size compared to a trial jury.
- indictmentFormal charge from jury
- sealed indictmentUndisclosed criminal accusation
- criminal chargesFormal accusations of lawbreaking
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
empanelment · juror · verdict · evidence · district attorney · criminal procedure · testimony · laws · panels · subpoena · charges · civic duty · witness · voir dire · true bill · sworn testimony · discovery process · Fifth Amendment
- criminal justicearrest, jail, court, prison, crime
- historic courtsStar Chamber, King's Bench, Chancery, Exchequer, hundred court
- courtsfamily court, civil court, district court, criminal court, circuit court
grand, jury, grandly, grandeur, grandness, grander, grandest, juries, jurors