Slugger Barry Bonds has been indicted, and former-Bolingbrook police officer Drew Peterson is under investigation. What they both have in common is grand juries.
Grand juries are groups of anonymous citizens gathered by government prosecutors to investigate alleged criminal matters. The grand jurors' sole purpose in the legal process is to determine if enough evidence exists to formally accuse an individual of a crime.
This formal accusation is known as an indictment. In the Barry Bonds case, Bonds has been indicted by a federal grand jury on five different criminal charges. But this indictment does not mean that Bonds is guilty. It simply means that he must now face a trial in which the prosecution must prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Linked here is the Bonds story from Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
In Drew Peterson's case, a grand jury is now investigating whether a crime was committed in the death of his third wife. Witnesses will testify under oath, eviden
ce will be presented, and the grand jury will determine whether a criminal trial should take place.
ce will be presented, and the grand jury will determine whether a criminal trial should take place.Grand juries are supposed to act as a guard against government prosecutors from abusing their power. Their decisions are not meant to confer guilt or innocence, but as a vital indicator as to whether a criminal case should proceed or be halted.
Linked here is MSNBC's interview with Drew Peterson and Dan Abrams' coverage of the story:
1 comment:
Sounds like grand juries are the Bill of Rights in action. Independent citizens deciding whether a trial should take place is a great way to block rigged trials. If there was no crime, the accused is spared the time, expense, and psychological pain of a trial, although their reputations will nevertheless be tarnished forever. As Gerald Ford says, "Our Consitution works."
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