While listening to the radio this morning, a caller stated that the grand jury process was unfair because its secret and only the prosecution gets to show evidence - the jury only gets to hear one side of the story. I could not disagree more. The grand jury is SUPPOSED to be secret for many reasons, primarily this one - if youre not charged with a crime, then the proceedings dont hurt the proposed criminal in any meaningful way. How many times have people been charged with a crime, been exonerated, and still had that cloud of suspicion follow them throughout their lifetimes? What the caller apparently - and I believe WILLFULLY - misunderstands about the grand jury process is twofold (at least). One - they arent a regular jury. All jurors seated on a grand jury are permitted to ask any question of any witness they want, thereby initiating lines of inquiry the prosecutor presenting the case may not have wanted them to consider. Two, the burden of proof is MUCH lower in a grand jury than a trial jury. All the grand jury need do is believe a crime MAY have been committed and they can indict. A grand jury isnt at the beyond reasonable doubt level of a trial jury. When the Founders set up this system, it was to ensure the citizenry was as protected as possible from those wielding power, and while it certainly isnt perfect, its STILL the best system out there. The Ferguson grand jury did its job by following the law, plain and simple.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 11:59:03 +0000
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