Law, court and a little bit about the role of the Grand Jury
Posted By RichC on May 10, 2018
Brenda was subpoenaed to be a witness in a "drug diversion" case and appeared before a Grand Jury in our today. For someone not all that familiar with law and legal proceeding this just sounded ominous. Since I’ve been summoned to jury duty this summer, I figured it was a good time to tag along and learn a bit more (besides Brenda wanted me for moral support) .
Normally the Grand Jury does not question witnesses (from what I was told) but a bit more reading on the subject and I can see that it is not all that uncommon either. The role of the Grand Jury is to "determine whether criminal charges should be brought" and if there is probable cause to indict … so as to "also shield the accused against unfounded and oppressive prosecution."
While Brenda was being questioned by both the prosecutor, who was presenting his evidence, and then by the jurors themselves, I talked a bit in the backroom with the investigator who collected the evidence for this case (he was a 30 year Cincinnati police officer and was next to be questioned).
Another interesting component of the Grand Jury is that there is no defense attorney or accused present, as the role of the Grand Jury is to determine if the evidence of a crime is sound. In this case I personally suspect the case will proceed, but won’t be surprised if it never goes to trial and a plea agreement is worked out in what looks like a first offense addiction case? We’ll see.
Shockingly in the 35 or so years of pharmacy, this is the first time Brenda was subpoenaed as a witness in a criminal matter. Drugs and addiction … a sign of our times??
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