THE "GRAND JURY" AND "THE HAM SANDWICH": MARYLAND TRIAL ATTORNEY SPEAKS

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com.  "Here to make a difference."
I heard the phrase many years ago when I was a first-year law student.  I have heard it, as well as used it myself, over the many years since law school.  The popular phrase among lawyers is this: "The grand jury can indict a ham sandwich."
Though obviously exaggerated, the phrase is not far from being true.  The grand jury is a secret group of people called upon to make a very important decision who are controlled by the prosecution.  The decision they are called upon to make is whether a person will be officially charged (indicted) for allegedly committing a crime.
By its very secret and insular nature, the grand jury can be an extremely subjective body of decision makers.  Both bad and good decisions come out of grand juries every day in the United States. 
Technically speaking, a grand jury is a legal body that is empowered to conduct official proceedings to investigate potential criminal conduct and to determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may compel the production of documents and may compel the sworn testimony of witnesses to appear before it. A grand jury is separate from the courts, which do not preside over its functioning.
The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution provides "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger..."
The United States is virtually the only country that retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing. Grand juries perform both accusatory and investigatory functions. The investigatory functions of the grand jury include obtaining and reviewing documents and other evidence and hearing the sworn testimony of witnesses that appear before it. The grand jury's accusatory function is to determine whether or not there is probable cause to believe that one or more persons committed a certain offense within the venue of the district court.
The "grand jury" in the United States is composed of 12 to 23 citizens
[see, U.S. v. Williams, Jr., 112 S. Ct. 1735, 504 U.S. 36 (1992); "State Grand Juries," Susan Brenner and Lori Shaw, Univ. of Dayton School of Law (2003); "Frequently Asked Questions About the Grand Jury System," American Bar Association (ABA), http://www.aba-now.org (2010)]
www.CharlesJeromeWare.com. "Here to make a difference." We can help you. Guaranteed.
Among his numerous other legal awards and honors such as "America's Best Attorneys and Counselors", U.S. Super Lawyer, "Top Lawyers in America", Top Attorneys and Counselors in the U.S., "Top Lawyers in Maryland", and winner of the national "Charles Hamilton Houston Award for Outstanding Litigation", premier criminal defense attorney Charles Ware is recognized and ranked by hi many satisfied clients as well as his legal peers as "One of the 10 BEST DUI and DWI Attorneys in the State of Maryland," as confirmed from research, surveys and other investigation by The American Institute of DUI and DWI Attorneys [AIDUIA] --- a respected national organization of trial lawyers.
Attorney Ware is also the founder and senior partner of the Maryland-based national business, criminal defense and civil trial law firm Charles Jerome Ware, Attorneys & Counselors, LLC. For an initial courtesy consultation, call Mr. Ware at (410) 730-5016 or (410) 720-6129.