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Article: A proposed addition to the federal rules of criminal procedures requiring the disclosure of the prosecutor's legal instructions to the Grand Jury
- Article from:
- American Criminal Law Review
- Article date:
- October 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Georgetown University Law Center Fall 2001. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The grand jury serves as the government's criminal investigative arm, helping the prosecutor gather evidence by issuing subpoenas for witnesses and documents. It also serves a protective function by determining whether the evidence presented to it by the prosecutor is sufficient to issue an indictment.' This protective screening function was deemed so important by the Founding Fathers that it was enshrined in the Grand Jury Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which states that "[n]o person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury."2 Notwithstanding its long history,3 the grand jury has been widely criticized for ...