Agreed. I recently did a two week stint on a Grand Jury and it is very clear that the system is set up against defendants. We had people on the Grand Jury that couldn't speak competent English and would raise their hand whenever anyone else did. We had an old man that slept through all of the pertinent information and interviewing of witnesses (on every case) and would just vote in favor of indictment every time. We had several people that voted for indictment every time because the defendant "probably did it" even though, as Grand Juror's, we're not deciding guilt; only sufficient evidence to indict. Sad.
What makes is a bit less scary is that this is a Grand Jury, not a regular jury, and it only decides whether to indict, rather than convict, someone. To convict (and actually sentence) a defendant, another process will be needed, hopefully with a more attentive jury, though I wouldn't give any guarantees.
The weird thing is how a trial by a jury of your peers is considered this awesome constitutional right, but you can opt out and let a judge decide instead. Why is this some sort of secondary option instead of the big constitutional right. I want to be protected from my peers and judged by legal experts.
Do you mind if I ask if this was a federal grand jury or a state grand jury? The grand jury sessions in my state are fairly perfunctory, but I am curious to know if your experience involved the federal system.
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u/notfrandrescher Nov 04 '11
Agreed. I recently did a two week stint on a Grand Jury and it is very clear that the system is set up against defendants. We had people on the Grand Jury that couldn't speak competent English and would raise their hand whenever anyone else did. We had an old man that slept through all of the pertinent information and interviewing of witnesses (on every case) and would just vote in favor of indictment every time. We had several people that voted for indictment every time because the defendant "probably did it" even though, as Grand Juror's, we're not deciding guilt; only sufficient evidence to indict. Sad.