Editing Grand jury (section)

==Purpose==
The grand jury has been described as a "shield and sword"<ref>"Law on the Books: Shield and Sword". [https://books.google.com/books?id=8MVHAQAAIAAJ America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System]. 1999. p 247.</ref> that has both an offensive purpose and defensive purpose.<ref>Statement of [[Sara Sun Beale]]. Constitutional Rights and the Grand Jury. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ETlAW7i6PxQC&pg=PA18 p 18].</ref> It has been called  the shield of the people against the power of the crown;<ref>HL Deb, 17 July 1812, [https://books.google.com/books?id=D5NUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1091 col 1091]</ref> though Green says this is a myth.<ref>Diamond. Federal Grand Jury Practice and Procedure. 5th Edition. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NexZBAAAQBAJ&pg=SA1-PA5 p 1-5].</ref> It has been described as the "sword of the people"<ref>Judicial Council of California. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r_uxAAAAIAAJ 1 January 1974]. p 30.</ref> and as a sword of the crown.<ref>Bennett. Environmental Crime: Pollution and Wildlife Enforcement. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NJWcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 p 39]</ref>

=== Criminal ===
The function of a grand jury is to accuse persons who may be guilty of a crime, but the institution is also a shield against unfounded and oppressive prosecution. It is a means for lay citizens, representative of the community, to participate in the administration of justice. It can also make presentments on crime and maladministration in its area. Traditionally, a grand jury consists of 23 members.

The mode of accusation is by a written statement of two types:
# in solemn form ([[indictment]]) describing the offense with proper accompaniments of time and circumstances, and certainty of act and person, or 
# by a less formal mode, which is usually the spontaneous act of the grand jury, called presentment.<ref name=Blackstone1>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/commentariesonl00baylgoog/page/n642/mode/2up |first1=John Bethune |last1=Bayly |first2=William |last2=Blackstone |author-link2=William Blackstone |date=1840 |title=Commentaries on the Laws of England |chapter=Book 4, Ch. 23: Of the Several Modes of Prosecution |location=London, UK |publisher=Sanders & Benning |page=586}}</ref>

No indictment or presentment can be made except by concurrence of at least twelve of the jurors. The grand jury may accuse upon their own knowledge, but it is generally done upon the testimony of witnesses under oath and other evidence heard before them. Grand jury proceedings are, in the first instance, held at the instigation of the government or other prosecutors, and are done [[ex parte]] and in secret deliberation. The accused has no knowledge of nor right to interfere with their proceedings.<ref name=britcyclop>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TrcTAAAAQAAJ&q=grand+jury&pg=PA590 |first=Charles F. |last=Partington |author-link=Charles F. Partington |date=1836 |title=British Cyclopedia of Literature, History, Geography, Law, and Politics |chapter=Jury, Trial by |volume=2 |location=London, UK |publisher=Orr & Smith |page=591}}</ref>

If they find the accusation true, which is usually drawn up in form by the prosecutor or an officer of the court, they write upon the indictment the words "a true bill" which is signed by the foreperson of the grand jury and presented to the court publicly in the presence of all the jurors. If the indictment is not proven to the satisfaction of the grand jury, the word ''[[Wiktionary:ignoramus|ignoramus]]''{{efn|In [[Latin language|Latin]], ''ignoramus'' literally means "we are ignorant of" or "we do not know" – in the context of a Grand Jury it effectively means "we do not know of any reason why this person should be indicted on these charges". This use of ''ignoramus'' long predates its more common English meaning of an ignorant person or dunce.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}}} or "not a true bill" is written upon it by the grand jury, or by their foreman and then said to be ignored, and the accusation is dismissed as unfounded; the potential defendant is said to have been "no-billed" by the grand jury. If the grand jury returns an indictment as a true bill (''billa vera''), the indictment is said to be founded and the party to stand indicted and required to be put on trial.<ref name=harris1>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/principlescrimi00agabgoog/page/n7/mode/2up |chapter=Book 3, Chapter VII: The Grand Jury |first=Seymour F. |last=Harris |date=1896 |title=Principles of the Criminal Law |edition=7th |location=London, UK |publisher=Stevens & Haynes |page=358}}</ref>

=== Watchdog ===
In Japan, the Prosecutorial Review Commission is made up of 11 randomly selected citizens, is appointed to a six-month term, and its primary purpose is examining cases prosecutors have chosen not to continue prosecuting.<ref name="Gastil-2014" /> It has therefore been perceived as a way to combat [[misfeasance]] in public officials.<ref name="Fukurai-2011" /> This is similar to civil grand juries in U.S. states like California.<ref name="Gastil-2014" />

Similarly, in 2011 there was a [[private member's bill]] in [[Ontario, Canada]] which would create citizen grand juries to oversee government institutions. The bill did not make any progress and was not passed.<ref>''[https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-39/session-2/bill-207/debates Bill 207, Grand Juries Act, 2011]''. Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 39th Parliament, Session 2.</ref>

=== Legislative ===
{{See also|Citizens' assembly}}

Many early grand juries in the U.S. had quasi-legislative functions like passing legislation or approving taxes or expenditures.<ref name="Jameson-2004" />

From the 17th century until 1898 in Ireland, Grand Juries also functioned as local government authorities:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grand Jury Collection |url=https://www.waterfordcouncil.ie/departments/culture-heritage/archives/collections/grand-jury.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130222614/https://www.waterfordcouncil.ie/departments/culture-heritage/archives/collections/grand-jury.htm |archive-date=November 30, 2022 |access-date=2022-08-15 |publisher=Waterford City & County Council}}</ref>
{{quote|They fixed the salaries of public officers; they regulated prisons and houses of correction; they levied funds for the support of hospitals; they made and repaired roads and bridges, and they framed accounts of the expenses incurred in these matters... They determined what public works should be undertaken — what price should be paid for them, and who were the individuals that should undertake them, and be responsible for their completion. They settled the amount of the local taxation of the county, and, under their direction, it was levied from the actual occupiers of the land.<ref>''Hansard'', House of Commons, 19 February 1833.</ref>}}