How long does the DA have to take a case to grand jury on a felony in Georgia?
My lawyer filed for a speedy trial and the DA said that she has a year after it goes to grand jury but in the 20 months since the arrest she has refused to take it to grand jury. What can i do to speed it up.The DA said she doesnt feel compfortable taking it to grand jury.
What kind of cases is a Grand Jury used in and why?
Historically, the grand jury--which was known as "the voice of the community" or "the people's panel"--was a way of injecting the common sense of the individuals who make up the community into government affairs. Specifically, grand juries were used to bring the everyday person's perspective into two aspects of government: investigating crime and/or community conditions and bringing charges against people who may have committed crimes. They still do both these things. Bringing charges In the federal system and in all but two of the states, grand juries are used to bring charges against persons who are believed to have committed crimes. In the federal system and in some states, they HAVE to be used to bring charges for felonies, which are the more serious crimes that normally carry a prison term for those who are convicted. In other states, they CAN be used to bring charges for felonies (or for other crimes), but don't have to be used. If a prosecutor doesn't HAVE to use a grand jury and doesn't WANT to, he or she can bring charges on their own, using what is called an "information" as the charging document. When a grand jury brings criminal charges, the charges are contained in a charging document that is called an "indictment." If a prosecutor wants a grand jury to charge someone, the prosecutor reserves time with the grand jury and then presents evidence to them. In presenting the evidence, the prosecutor is trying to persuade the grand jurors that the people he or she wants to charge have committed certain crimes. The evidence can be almost anything--testimony from witnesses (including police officers or federal agents), documents, video recordings, tape recordings, the results of scientific tests (like DNA tests), photographs, etc http://campus.udayton.edu/~grandjur/faq/...
Are cases scheduled to go before the grand jury?
The court with schedule a grand jury day, which is usually once a month. Then evidence in cases are presented to the grand jury who then decides whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial. Nearly every time the case moves forward. The cases can either come from a lower court or straight from the prosecutor for a direct indictment.
If you go before the grand jury, is it the FBI that will handle your case?
Virtually, with Robert Mueller, the former FBI Director but now the prosecutor, although he was only appointed “special counsel” not “special prosecutor.” There’s a deep symbiotic relationship between the FBI and the Attorney General’s Office. Federal prosecutors get convictions, which they like, by having the FBI skew evidence and testimony in favor of convictions. The FBI crime labs go out of their way to twist chemical experiments and results to fit the pro conviction narrative. It’s similar to financial and economic regulatory boards and agencies, where the industry to be regulated takes over the regulatory board, and gets regulations that help it. The FBI and AG are two sides of one coin, especially today or at least as far back as when we had FBI Director Mueller & deputy AG Comey working like Siamese twins. Mueller will bring in an FBI shill as witness before the grand jury and the trial jury, to pretend whoever Mueller prosecutes is guilty. That’s our federal grand jury system. While if the AG doesn’t want Epstein and pedophiles prosecuted, then the FBI won’t find any evidence. Or consider Comey & Lynch. Who was it? Comey or Lynch who actually decided Hillary was innocent? Does it even matter when they jointly work together?
What does it mean if grand jury votes to pass?
Usually by the time an AUSA brings a request for an indictment, the grand jury has heard evidence in the investigation and has had plenty of time to ask questions about the law, and how the law was supposedly broken in this case. Sometimes a request for an indictment comes in for a much smaller case, concerning a more straightforward investigation. In either situation, the grand jury must consider the evidence and the law, and decide if there is probable cause that the crime was committed. Sometimes, the evidence may not support what the prosecution wants to charge the defendant with. In that case, the grand jury votes not to indict (not to return a “true bill”), and as far as the grand jury is concerned, that’s that.It’s possible that the prosecution may try again with another grand jury. It may even be likely that the prosecution may rewrite the indictment to change the charges. They don’t fill the grand jury in on those plans, though.
How does a grand jury case differ from a criminal case?
The only difference between systems is the different states that a crime may be prosecuted in. Assuming both happen in the same state, initially, both cases will be investigated. At some point, the case is presented to a grand jury, who looks at the evidence discovered during the investigation. If they feel that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute, then both the prosecution and defense do further investigation to build their cases, and the case goes before a jury trial.Other states may not have a grand jury, but the process would be the same whether a gang related shooting, or a shooting by police while on duty.
If a grand jury decides no bill, is the case dropped?
It depends primarily on the policies and practices of the prosecuting authority in the matter. In many jurisdictions, a no-bill decision requires that the prosecutor go back to the drawing board and obtain new information or evidence before convening a new grand jury to review the case again.
What is the point of a grand jury?
Typically a Grand Jury determines whether there is probable cause that a crime was committed and that the person alleged more than likely committed the crime. A finding of probable cause by a Grand Jury is called a True Bill. A True Bill results in the court issuing an Indictment or a formal criminal charge at the Superior or Court of Record level within an individual state or in the federal system. Probable cause is facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable and prudent person to believe that a crime has been committed and that the person under suspicion committed the crime. A Grand Jury may also be tasked by the court with conducting an investigation into a potentially criminal matter. At the conclusion of the Grand Jury's investigation, they will determine if there is probable cause as mentioned above and if so, issue a True Bill. Grand Jurys typically are appointed by the court from a list of registered voters in the same judicial district and the Grand Jury meets approximately once every two months. Some Grand Juries can meet more often or for special purposes. If for a special purpose (like an organized crime investigation) they are called a Special Grand Jury.In most cases when the police arrest someone for a crime, the case goes to a lower court for a Preliminary Hearing. If the Judge of the lower court finds Probable Cause, the case is referred to the higher Court of Record who then assigns it to be reviewed by a Grand Jury. There are other legal details, but this is essentially the process in the United States.
What does it mean if you were "indited by a grand jury"?
A Grand Jury is a group of people chosen by the prosecution and defense attorneys to fairly decide if there is enough evidence for your case to go to trial. If there is not enough evidence the case is dismissed. If there is enough evidence, the jury decides that the case must go to trial. The word indicted means to accuse. The grand jury therefore formally indicts/accuses that there is enough evidence to say that you may have committed a serious criminal act, eg murder, conspiracy, etc. You are therefore made to appear before a court to answer the charges levelled against you.Indictable offences are normally tried by jury, unless the accused waives the right to a jury trial. In common law systems, the accused is not normally entitled to a jury trial if the offence charged does not require an indictment; the main exception here is again the U.S., where the Sixth Amendment mandates the right of having a jury trial for any criminal offense punishable by imprisonment for more than six months.
What does it mean to be indicted by a grand jury?
Many major crimes are taken before the grand jury by the state or federal prosecutor to present all of the known evidence. The Grand Jury will hear and see all of the evidence and vote for or against the filing of formal charges against the defendant. The rules of evidence and appellate procedure are much more lax in a grand jury than in a regular criminal jury trial. If they vote for an Indictment, than a new jury is picked and the case goes to court where both the prosecution and the defense present their case and the jury finds them guilty or not guilty. Its basically just a fact finding mission and to vote if their is enough evidence against a defendant to take them to trial.