4 ms·
I served on a grand jury for three months. We listened to police testimony, the DA's office told us the charges, and we voted. Police testimony was all we had
by SantalBlush 4y ago
I served on a grand jury for three months. We listened to police testimony, the DA's office told us the charges, and we voted. Police testimony was all we had to work with when deciding whether or not to indict. It felt like a charade.
- brewdad 4y agoSure but that's only the indictment phase. Basically, is there any case here at all. The rest will come out in the trial phase.
- SantalBlush 4y agoI'm not sure why I'm getting multiple replies explaining the purpose of a grand jury when I just said I served on one for three months. I understand the purpose and process more than most here. Indictment alone is serious business. It is enough to ruin someone's life, and is not to be taken lightly. So when a grand jury is only given police testimony as evidence, that indicates a shortcoming in the system.
- netheril96 4y agoThe grand jury and the jury for trial are different things.
- mcv 4y agoI've never been on a jury and live in a country that doesn't have juries at all, as far as I'm aware, but if I lived in the US and served on a jury there, I would never convict solely on police testimony. The police are often not a neutral party. And especially with all the stories of police quotas, extremist groups infiltrating the police, rampant racism in some police departments, and even law enforcement experts telling people to never talk to the police without a lawyer, the US police doesn't come across to me as particularly trustworthy.
- lesuorac 4y agoGrand juries aren't a real trial. It's a procedural requirement before you federally try somebody for a felony. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_...