4 ms·

The fifth amendment requires the defendant to be indicted by a grand jury before facing trial. I think the article overstates the power of the US Attorney to br

The fifth amendment requires the defendant to be indicted by a grand jury before facing trial. I think the article overstates the power of the US Attorney to bring charges (if perhaps only only in theory).

ef4 14y ago
In practice, it's an open secret that grand jury proceedings are so biased in favor of the prosecution that they're merely a formality. As if any grand jury could sift through a 360,000 page indictment anyway.
- charonn0 14y ago
  If there ever were a 360,000 page indictment, then I'd agree.
rprasad 14y ago
Federal grand juries are stricter than grand juries at the state or local levels, but state and local grand juries will indight a ham sandwich (in many instances, grand juries have erroneously indicted the victim of the crime rather than the alleged perpetrator), so this is a very low bar. All the prosecutor has to do to satisfy the grand jury is show sufficient evidence that the defendant could have committed the crime.
rayiner 14y ago
This should not be downvoted. This is true and an important Constitutional check on prosecutorial power.
- talmand 14y ago
  That's supposed to be how it works, but often in practice it is far from it.
- gyardley 14y ago
  If it was downvoted, it's because the grand jury process has become a farce. A pretty good description of how it actually works, written by a former government prosecutor, can be found in this entry: http://www.popehat.com/2010/12/30/the-first-rule-of-the-war-on-drugs-is-dont-talk-about-the-war-on-drugs/ http://www.popehat.com/2010/12/30/the-first-rule-of-the-war-... Conrad Black also describes the use and abuse of the grand jury in depth as part of A Matter of Principle.
  - rayiner 14y ago
    The fact that a factually correct and relevant comment does not fit into your particular conspiracy theory does not warrant a downvote.
cafard 14y ago
Sol Wachtler, once chief justice of New York, said that any district attorney worth his salt could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. (For what it's worth, Wachtler found himself on the other side of the law some years after he said that.)

ef4 14y ago

In practice, it's an open secret that grand jury proceedings are so biased in favor of the prosecution that they're merely a formality. As if any grand jury could sift through a 360,000 page indictment anyway.

charonn0 14y ago
If there ever were a 360,000 page indictment, then I'd agree.

rprasad 14y ago

Federal grand juries are stricter than grand juries at the state or local levels, but state and local grand juries will indight a ham sandwich (in many instances, grand juries have erroneously indicted the victim of the crime rather than the alleged perpetrator), so this is a very low bar. All the prosecutor has to do to satisfy the grand jury is show sufficient evidence that the defendant could have committed the crime.

rayiner 14y ago

This should not be downvoted. This is true and an important Constitutional check on prosecutorial power.

talmand 14y ago
That's supposed to be how it works, but often in practice it is far from it.
gyardley 14y ago
If it was downvoted, it's because the grand jury process has become a farce. A pretty good description of how it actually works, written by a former government prosecutor, can be found in this entry: http://www.popehat.com/2010/12/30/the-first-rule-of-the-war-on-drugs-is-dont-talk-about-the-war-on-drugs/ http://www.popehat.com/2010/12/30/the-first-rule-of-the-war-... Conrad Black also describes the use and abuse of the grand jury in depth as part of A Matter of Principle.
- rayiner 14y ago
  The fact that a factually correct and relevant comment does not fit into your particular conspiracy theory does not warrant a downvote.

cafard 14y ago

Sol Wachtler, once chief justice of New York, said that any district attorney worth his salt could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. (For what it's worth, Wachtler found himself on the other side of the law some years after he said that.)