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Defense attorney Harold Gurewitz discusses Michigan’s use of a so-called one-man grand jury.
Behind Closed Doors Thomas K. Maher, Christopher Fialko August/September 2000 53 The Fifth Amendment Is Alive and Well In United States v. Dickerson, 166 F.3d 667 (4th Cir. 1999), a divided panel of the Fourth Circuit held that 18 U.S.C. § 3501 effectively overruled the Supreme Court's decision i
The role of the grand jury in capital prosecutions Thomas K. Maher, Christopher Fialko
In light of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., should “use of deadly force to arrest” laws be changed? The authors recommend that state statutes be amended to employ an “objective necessity” test in cases involving “deadly force” arrests. This proposed standard would empower grand juries and petit juries to determine if an officer committed a crime — regardless of the officer’s subjective belief that the use of deadly force was necessary.
The grand jury system is broken and in need of reform. The grand jury is a tool of the prosecution, whether that means to indict without evidence or to fail to indict in the face of arguable evidence.
The deaths of unarmed suspects have led to claims of excessive police force and proposals for grand jury reform. North Carolina lawyer J. Michael McGuinness states, however, that people calling for reform are using emotion “to attempt to eradicate long-settled law that strikes a balance between the rights of police officers and suspects.” He adds that due to the proliferation of guns and the necessity of quick police action, some innocent members of the public will inevitably be killed or injured by the police, especially when they make gestures inferring that they are retrieving a weapon.
Defense lawyers are not permitted in the grand jury room, and the government has no constitutional duty to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. The absence of a constitutional right or statutory obligation on the part of the government does not, however, foreclose other avenues for the defense to put its presentation before the grand jury. By looking to the government’s own policies, the defense lawyer may have an opportunity to be heard.
