ASSIGNMENT HELP | Given the fact that only the prosecution presents evidence to the grand jury, are grand juries still justifiable and beneficial to the criminal justice system?

Only about half the states in the United States use the grand jury in criminal prosecutions. Research the laws of Ohio, and explain whether or not grand jury indictments are used.

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Given the fact that only the prosecution presents evidence to the grand jury, are grand juries still justifiable and beneficial to the criminal justice system? As a protection for the Innocent citizen? As a tool for prosecutors?

MODEL ANSWER

Grand Jury

A grand jury is a mechanism used by the U.S. justice system to put evidence of a suspected crime to a group of peers who evaluate whether there is enough evidence to indict or put charges against the PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | of peers decides that the evidence is enough, charges are recommended otherwise no-bill, meaning that the evidence presented by the prosecutor is not PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | are present but secret (Simmons, 2016). Despite the official reporter being present during testimony but there are no jury deliberations, the report remains secret unless the court orders the report to be PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | on the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, arguing that the action promotes a systematic abuse of power by prosecutors, mainly due to insufficient evidentiary and oversight standards (Cassidy & Cook III, 2016).

Although grand juries are PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | and meant to protect the right PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | of grand juries is indirectly intended to benefit the prosecutor and enable law enforcement agencies to use unconstitutional PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | to get an PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com |the process used in grand juries does not encourage constitutional police PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | illegal police investigation, unreliable PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com |, or through unconstitutional surveillance can be relied PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | and heard by grand jurors. Moreover, even if a prosecutor gathered information PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | that the accused person is innocent, he or she cannot present it before the grand jury, meaning that while two sides are presented in a trial, only one team will be presented in a grand jury proceeding (Fairfax Jr, 2015).  PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | a result, the prosecutor is given more power to initiate a witch hunt by failing to present accurate information.

References

Cassidy, R. M., & Cook III, J. A. (2016). The grand jury: A shield of a different sort. Ga. L. Rev., 51, 1001.

Fairfax Jr, R. A. (2015). Thinking outside the jury box: Deploying the grand jury in the guilty plea process. Wm. & Mary L. Rev., 57, 1395.

Knott, V. (2015). Reconsidering the use of the grand jury: Eliminating prosecutorial discretion to indict law enforcement officers. T. Jefferson L. Rev., 38, 202.

Simmons, R. (2016). The role of the prosecutor and the grand jury in police use of deadly force cases: Restoring the grand jury to its original purpose. Clev. St. L. Rev., 65, 519.