GRAND JURY. The assembly of good and sufficient men, summoned by order of the sheriff to attend every session of the peace, and every commission of over and terminer and general jail delivery in England, for the purpose of in quiring into the charges of offenses, and of re turning to the court their delivery thereon. The institution of the grand jury dates back to the earliest period of English history, having been in use among the Saxons. It would seem from a law of Ethelred that the number of the grand jury was originally twelve; but we learn from Bracton that, in the time of Henry III., it was the practice to return four knights for every hundred, who elected twelve other knights, or else' twelve liberos et legates homines, to take part with them in the inquest. Toward the latter part of the reign of Edward III., in ad dition to the inquest for the hundred, the sheriff was required to return a panel of knights for the whole county. This jury was called le graunde inquest, and made inquiry for the county, while the jury for the hundred inquired for its own district only. After the establishment of the graunde inquest, the practice of summon ing a jury of the hundred gradually went out of use; but until 6 Geo. IV., c. 50, it was deemed necessary that some of the grand jury should be summoned for every hundred. At the present day, the grand jury must consist of no fewer than twelve, nor more than twenty-three mem bers. A grand jury is summoned for every assize, and for the quarter-sessions in counties and boroughs. After having the oath adminis tered, and receiving a. charge from the judge. the grand jurors retire to their room. and the various indictments, which are called bills, are laid be fore them. The duty of the' grand jury is simply to inquire whether there is sufficient prima facie evidence to require' a trial. For this purpose they may require the same evidence, written and parol, as may be necessary to sup port the indictment at the trial. But in practice, having ascertained that the Crown has a suffi cient prima facie case, they return a true bill. the prisoner's evidence being reserved for the trial. Witnesses are sworn on their examination before the grand jury by an officer appointed by the court. When the jury have come to a eon elusion, the clerk indorses on the indictment a true bill in case the jury, or a majority of twelve, are satisfied that the case is sufficiently strong.
In case they are not satisfied, the indictment is indorsed not a true bill. The foreman, accom panied by one or more of the jurors, then carries the indictments into court, and presents them to the clerk, who states to the court the nature of the charge and the indorsement of the jury.
In this country the grand jury is also sum moned by the sheriff, and, as in England, its function is, upon such evidence as the attorney of the State may present, to determine whether persons accused of crime shall be indicted and tried therefor, and to inquire into such other matters as may be confided to them by the court, or may come to their knowledge. They may accordingly make presentment of any matter re quiring remedial action by the courts or the legislature, as the general prevalence of crime, the inefficiency of the law or of its administra tive agents, the neglect of their duty by public officials, and the like. In inquiring into the commission of a particular criminal charge, they do not examine witnesses for the defense; for it is not their duty to find a verdict, but only to decide if there is prima facie evidence of guilt, such as to warrant a trial. In all essential particulars this institution is the same in the United States as in England, but upon minor points there are in practice sonic differences. The number of men required to constitute a grand jury is not the same in every State, but varies from 12 to 23. The court may, in its discretion, select the foreman or allow the jury men to do so.
The importance of the grand jury in our legal system is not due to any general impression of its value in the ordinary administration of the criminal law, but to the great role which it has played as a bulwark against royal aggression. The Crown in England has always enjoyed the right of instituting criminal prosecutions by in formation (q.v.), and the abuse of this preroga tive was one of the principal grounds of the popular uprising against the Stuarts in England and against George III. in America. It is to this feeling, that only the people should have the power of instituting criminal prosecutions, that we owe the provision in the American Con stitution guaranteeing the institution of the grand jury. Most of the State constitutions have provisions to the same effect. See JURY.