Understanding the Grand Jury process a true game of chess
Grand jurys have been in the news a alot lately regarding the Mueller investagation but do we really understand the ins and outs of this criminal process when truly examined prosecutors are true chess champs with their ability to indicte persons using a grand jury.
Grand Juries are called for a multitude of crimes but a grand jury is required for any federal felony before procesecution. The main focus for convining a grand jury to to see whether there is reasonal proof of a crime. But looking closer a grand jury shows the justice deptartment whether there is enough evidence to convict. There are usually 23 jurors, no judge, and the defendent may not even be told a grand jury was sommoned against them. The prosector will subpoena evidence and witnesses (willing or not willing) to present their case. Jurors are allowed to ask questions and challenge the prosecutors case and in the end its the jury that will determine whether there is cause for indictment.
Grand juries are a big deal if you watch the news you will notice people always seem to comply once called forth to testify. Any lawyer will advise that not complying with the grand jury is a bad idea that will likely cause future issues. Why is that well in many cases witnesses who are called are also guilty on some level of the crime being investigated. Also testifying leads to job loss and usually a committment to be a witness in a federal trial. So prosecutors use their power to make deals with most withnesses for immunity or a lesser sentence for any part the witness may have had in the criminal act.
A nice game play by the prosecutor is that before they call the witness they usually have evidence on them to convict the witness of being part of the crime so the witness usually has no way out but to cooperate. Though some dont its rare some stay loyal and claim they will not flip and will just plead the 5th to avoid incriminating themselves. There is a way around that to. Once a witness is served they my be contacted by the prosecutor and offered immunity right off the bat. Any crimes the witness may be part of will be ignored and the witness will go free. Now why is that such a interesting move well if a witness is offered immunity right way and for some reason denies the deal they no longer have the right to plead the 5th before the grand jury.
Of course a witness could just refuse to speak and of course they will be held in contempt and jailed. Lying to a grand jury rarely happens witness are advised that the prosecutor may already have evidence that will prove the witness is lying and jail time for that is steep.
Seems easy right? Well prosecutors need to get through the hurdle of the grand jury to get an indictment and not all crimes are easy to prove. I mean they can seem obvious that the persons or person is guitly but showing total proof without a reasonal doubt can be hard.
Example lets say a CEO of a large company that constructs buildings approves of cheap material for time sake and to save money. Two years later this build colapses and once investigated its seen that the materials were obviously cheap and dangerous. Now to prove that the CEO not only new of the cheap materials but new of the danger and approved anyway. Well the prosecutor has to have actual witness or evidence that this CEO knew of the danger of the materials and not just that they were weak. Unless the prosecutor literally finds a witness who told the CEO of the dangers of the material most evidence will be circumstantial and weak witness testomony. This kind of case would go before a grand jury far before criminal indictment mainly for the prosecutor to prove to the DOJ that they have a case and can win.
Not all crimes are cut and dry. There arent murder weapons or clear cut evidence with finger prints on it. Many crimes have layers and layer to get to the top dog. That person usually deligates and keeps their hands mostly clean. Even following the money trail can be disputed. And once a grand jury denies an indictment you dont usually see it conviened again for the same crime.
Evidence will be questioned on how it was obtained. Witnesses will show whether their testimony actually proves guilt without a reasonable doubt. And even someone who is so obviously guilty wont be indicted because the evidence and witnesses are lacking or dont show substantial proof.
Grand Juries are a way to show the abiltiy to convict a person without actually convicting them. Many cases before grand juries are cases regarding federal employees, high level business officials, government officials and so forth. Overall a grand jury decides whether the guilty party can be found guilty. Their place in our system is important and gives a prosecutor a chance to show how crafty and skilled of a player in the system they are.
