1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. grand jury

Find the word definition

What is "grand jury"

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
grand jury
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A subsequent grand jury said there was insufficient evidence of misconduct.
▪ Appearing before a grand jury under subpoena as Bowles did does not imply guilt.
▪ Being called before a grand jury does not mean a witness has done anything wrong.
▪ He was a member of the Shropshire grand jury and frequently acted on behalf of his parish in legal matters.
▪ Starr had argued that there never should be a right to such secrecy in the face of a grand jury subpoena.
▪ There is no indication that Leckie has testified before the grand jury.
▪ Would be under indictment by every grand jury south of the Potomac.
Wiktionary
grand jury

n. (context legal English) A group of citizens assembled by the government to hear evidence against an accused, and determine whether an indictment for a crime should be brought.

WordNet
grand jury

n. a jury to inquire in accusations of crime and to evaluate the grounds for indictments

Wikipedia
Grand jury

A grand jury is a legal body that is empowered to conduct official proceedings to investigate potential criminal conduct and to determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may compel the production of documents and may compel the sworn testimony of witnesses to appear before it. A grand jury is separate from the courts, which do not preside over its functioning.

The United States and Liberia are the only countries that retain grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing. Grand juries perform both accusatory and investigatory functions. The investigatory functions of the grand jury include obtaining and reviewing documents and other evidence and hearing the sworn testimony of witnesses that appear before it. The grand jury's accusatory function is to determine whether or not there is probable cause to believe that one or more persons committed a certain offence within the venue of the district court.

A grand jury in the United States is usually composed of 16 to 23 citizens, though in Virginia it is composed of lesser numbers for regular or special grand juries. In Ireland, they also functioned as local government authorities. In Japan the Law of July 12, 1948 created the Kensatsu Shinsakai (Prosecutorial Review Commission, or PRC, system), inspired from the American grand jury.

A grand jury is so named because traditionally it has a greater number of jurors than a trial jury, called a petit jury (from the French word petit meaning "small").

Grand Jury (1976 film)

Grand Jury is a 1976 American crime film. It stars Leslie Nielsen.

Grand Jury (1936 film)

Grand Jury is a 1936 American crime drama film directed by Albert S. Rogell using a script by Joseph A. Fields and Philip G. Epstein, based on a story by James Edward Grant and Thomas Lennon. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it premiered in New York City on July 31, 1936, and was released nationwide the following week on August 7. The film stars Fred Stone, Louise Latimer and Owen Davis, Jr..