The grand jury is made up of laymen. The regulations on grand jury members in different States are slightly different, generally including local citizens with voting rights; Not more than 70 years old; Sound mind, no disability; No felony record; Suitable for grand jury work.
There are two main ways to select grand jury members: one is "drawing lots", that is, drawing lots among candidates who meet the above conditions to determine grand jury members; The second is the "selection method", that is, one or several judges select grand jury members from the candidates who meet the above conditions through appraisal. According to the law, at present, 42 States in the United States adopt the first method; Six states adopt the second method. In addition, Colorado and Nebraska adopt a combination of two methods, that is, 40 to 50 candidates are selected by "lottery" first, and then the judges determine the official candidates.
The term of the grand jury varies from state to state. Most States stipulate that the term of office of grand jury is the same as that of judges, generally four years; Some states stipulate that the term of the grand jury is 1 year, 6 months, 4 months, 3 months, 60 days or 4 weeks. In addition, three states stipulate that the term of the grand jury is decided by the judge according to the specific circumstances of the case, that is, the term of the grand jury depends on the length of time required for case investigation and prosecution. A grand jury with a fixed term of office is responsible for investigating many cases during its term of office; The grand jury with indefinite term is only responsible for investigating the cases set for it, so it can be called "ad hoc grand jury".
Although the function of grand jury is to examine and restrict the prosecutor's right to sue, in practice, grand jury often becomes an important investigation weapon in the hands of prosecutors. There are two reasons: first, because the grand jury only listens to the prosecution's evidence and does not listen to the defense's opinions, prosecutors can generally easily convince the grand jury members to accept their accusations; Secondly, because the grand jury enjoys special powers such as secretly summoning relevant personnel and requiring the summoned person to make a statement under oath, refusing to make a statement to the grand jury can be sentenced to contempt of court, and prosecutors can often obtain testimony or statements that the parties cannot obtain with the help of the grand jury.
Generally speaking, Americans believe that the jury system is the guarantee of judicial democracy and justice, and its operation is basically satisfactory. However, in recent years, some scholars have made various criticisms of the jury system. For example, some people say that the jury system affects the efficiency of the judicial system; Some people say that the jury system wastes taxpayers' money; Some people say that jury decisions are sometimes ridiculous; Some people say that people who serve as jurors are an intrusion on citizens' personal lives and so on. In recent years, Washington, D.C., Arizona, California, New York, Colorado and other jurisdictions have organized people from all walks of life to conduct a special study on the modernization of the jury system facing the 2 1 century.
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