Legal noob here.
What exactly happens happens in front of a grand jury? Is it just the prosecution presenting evidence? Are defense attorneys allowed to raise any type of objections? What needs to be presented to allow for an indictment?
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Legal noob here.
What exactly happens happens in front of a grand jury? Is it just the prosecution presenting evidence? Are defense attorneys allowed to raise any type of objections? What needs to be presented to allow for an indictment?
You can indite a ham sandwich as they like to say on TV with a Grand Jury. The defense is not present and it is just the prosecutor presenting evidence such as affidavids, live testimonials, physical evidence collected, etc.
Simple search reveals..........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_jury
Oh snap!
but you are correct.
I've actually had to testify in front of a grand jury and believe me, there's nothing grand about the experience.
The prosecuting attorney(s) are present and the judge may or may not be there. The jury pool will be there. The witness is grilled by the prosecution, then the questioning is turned over to members of the jury who can ask whatever they want. In my case, it was obvious that the jury had already been prepped by the prosecution, as the questions they asked me were very pointed. A grand jury hands up an indictment based on a preponderance of the evidence.
If you have to testify in front of one, I wish you the best of luck.