Grand Jury Information

Grand Jury service is one of the most important responsibilities in the administration of justice in our community. A properly functioning Grand Jury is responsible for safeguarding individuals from unfounded prosecutions and for protecting the general public from crime and criminals.

The following information describes the duties and responsibilities of Grand Juries. If any questions you have are not answered within or you wish additional information, please do not hesitate to contact our office - (606) 246-2060.

I hope this information is helpful in your understanding of the role and responsibilities of Grand Juries in Fayette County.

The Grand Jury serves to protect people from being prosecuted for false or unsupported charges. This is accomplished by having a group of citizens (the Grand Jurors) hear a complaining witness support, under oath, the allegations that have been made. No one wants to stand trial before there has been a determination of probable cause and no one wants to, or should, bear the expense and worry of defending against a frivolous charge.

A question frequently asked is "How is a Grand Jury Selected?" A computer in our state capitol at Frankfort randomly selects people from Fayette County's voter registration rolls and list of licensed drivers. All are summoned to appear in Circuit Court. At the jury orientation, names are drawn by the Circuit Court Clerk at random until twelve (12) qualified and available persons are selected and then sworn to serve as Grand Jurors.  A prospective juror is disqualified to serve on jury duty in Fayette County for the following reasons:

• If he/she is not a citizen of the United States; or

• If he/she is not a resident of Fayette County; or

• If he/she is unable to speak and understand the English language; or

• If he/she is incapable, by reason of his physical or mental disability, of rendering effective jury service; or

• If he/she has been previously convicted of a felony and has not been pardoned by an authorized person of the jurisdiction in which he/she was convicted; or

• If he/she is presently under indictment; or

• If he/she has served on a jury within the past twelve (12) months.

In Fayette County, each Grand Jury serves for a period of one month.

Service on a Grand Jury has long been considered one of the highest duties of citizenship and a unique opportunity for the individual citizen to participate in the administration of justice. Historically, the function of the Grand Jury has been to protect the innocent from hasty, malicious and oppressive prosecutions. It has always stood as a check to insure that a charge was founded on sufficient and competent evidence.

There are basically two kinds of law - civil and criminal. The Grand Jury is only concerned with criminal matters. In order to aid you in the performance of your duties, this section will help you understand the difference between the two.

Civil law deals with situations where there is a dispute between two or more people. The community itself does not suffer any wrong. For example, Mr. Smith accidentally runs his car into Mr. Jones' truck. If these two individuals cannot agree to settle the damages out of court, a civil suit is filed so that a court and jury can equitably decide who was negligent in the accident and who is responsible for the damages resulting from the accident.

In contrast, if Mr. Smith intentionally shoots Mr. Jones, the act is criminal. Not only has Mr. Jones been injured, but society as a whole has been injured. Why? Because Mr. Smith's act of shooting someone poses a threat to all of us. We, as a law-abiding society, have decided that anyone who acts in this manner should be punished. When this case goes through the criminal justice system, Mr. Smith may be found guilty of a crime and imprisoned. A crime takes place when an injury or wrong occurs, not only to an individual, but to society as a whole. Society, by enactment of criminal laws, imposes penalties for this type of conduct.

When a crime has been committed, it will come to the Grand Jury in one of two ways.

First, a private citizen may obtain a warrant accusing another individual of a criminal act or the police may arrest an individual for committing a criminal act. The person accused will then be brought before the District Court and a date will be set for a preliminary hearing. At the preliminary hearing, the judge will determine whether the crime charged is a felony and whether there is sufficient evidence (probable cause) to believe that the accused person committed the crime. If the crime committed is a misdemeanor charge, it will be adjudicated in the District Court. If the District Judge determines the crime to be a felony charge, he or she must hold it to the next Grand Jury for consideration. A defense attorney may waive the preliminary hearing and waive the case to the Grand Jury. By statute, the District Court cannot convict people of felony charges. Felony charges must first be presented to the Grand Jury which, as a body, determines whether there is sufficient competent evidence to return an indictment charging the accused. If so, the accused stands trial on the charges in the Circuit Court. The vast majority of cases arrive before the Grand Jury in this manner.

The second way in which a case comes to the Grand Jury is by direct presentation by the prosecutor of a charge or charges. The Grand Jury may hear evidence on charges that have never come through the District Court. These presentations of evidence are called "direct submissions." Direct submissions come to the Grand Jury because of the nature of the charges; for example, the urgency of the situation or the necessity of secrecy in the matter for the protection of the victims or witnesses in the matter.

The most important duty of a Grand Jury is to evaluate evidence and determine whether there is sufficient competent evidence (probable cause) to believe that a crime has been committed by a specific individual. If the Grand Jury makes such a determination, the Grand Jury will return an indictment. On the other hand, if the Grand Jury determines that no crime has been committed or that there is not sufficient evidence to believe that the accused committed the crime, the Grand Jury will dismiss the charge. If the Grand Jury determines that there is sufficient evidence to believe the accused has committed some of the offenses charged, but not all of the offenses, the Grand Jury will return an indictment on those charges for which they found that probable cause existed and dismiss those in which probable cause did not exist. In this respect, the Grand Jury safeguards the rights of the victim, the accused and society.

In order for an accused to be convicted of a crime, he must be found guilty by "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" by a Petit Jury after the Petit Jury hears all the evidence in the Circuit Court. The Grand Jury should not apply this standard. Your burden of proof is whether there is probable cause that there is sufficient evidence in the case to be tried.

The Grand Jury may hear evidence of criminal conduct alleged to have been committed by a juvenile. A juvenile is a person who is under the age of eighteen years at the time the offense was committed. Normally, all juvenile matters are adjudicated in the juvenile session of the District Court; however, the District Judge may transfer charges to the Grand Jury for consideration if the District Judge has determined that all remedies have been exhausted in dealing with the juvenile and that it is in society's best interest to treat the juvenile as an adult. The District Judge may also transfer cases to Circuit Court if the juvenile was over the age of fourteen at the time of the commission of the offense and a felony offense involving the use of a firearm was committed. The Grand Jury may then return an indictment treating the juvenile as an adult, may direct that the juvenile be transferred back to the District Court, or may dismiss the charges if there is insufficient evidence.

Witnesses will appear before the Grand Jury one at a time. Each witness will be sworn by the foreperson of the Grand Jury to tell the truth. The Commonwealth's Attorney or his assistant will then question the witness about his or her knowledge of that particular case. Before the witness is excused, each Grand Juror will be given the opportunity to ask pertinent questions of the witness. When all the evidence has been presented, the Grand Jury then decides whether that evidence warrants an indictment. At least nine (9) members of the Grand Jury must concur in order to return an indictment. If less than nine (9) members agree, the case will be dismissed. Mere suspicion of guilt is not enough to return an indictment; the Grand Jury must determine that the accused is probably guilty of the crime.

After hearing testimony from the victim, the police or other witnesses, the Grand Jury may decide that there are other witnesses or evidence it needs to assist it in coming to a decision. By majority vote, the Grand Jury may request that subpoenas be issued for additional witnesses or evidence. The foreperson should make the Commonwealth's Attorney aware of any requests by the Grand Jury.

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Chapter 11 of the Kentucky Constitution guarantee people the right against self-incrimination. If a witness refuses to testify or answer questions, the foreperson, with the Commonwealth's Attorney, must appear before the Circuit Judge, address the Court with the question that the witness refuses to answer, and the Court will determine whether a response to the question might incriminate the witness. If the Court rules the answer would not incriminate the witness and the witness still refuses to answer, then the Judge can order the witness to jail for contempt of court.

The Grand Jury has the right to exclude the attorney for the Commonwealth while questioning witnesses. Any testimony received by the Grand Jury must still be recorded as required by the Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Always consider the evidence as objectively as possible. Do not be swayed by emotional appeals to your sympathy. If you return an indictment and the case goes to trial, all relevant circumstances which are admissible will be considered by the Court and Petit Jury. Remember, though, the Grand Jury must answer two primary questions:

• Has a crime been committed?

• Was the crime probably committed by the person who has been accused?

The first order of business for the Grand Jury is to select one of its number as the foreperson. The duties of the foreperson are to give an oath to each witness to tell the truth (a card with the oath on it will be provided), to sign all documents returned by the Grand Jury, to present results to the Commonwealth's Attorney of all jury deliberations and to act as a liaison between the Grand Jury and the Commonwealth's Attorney. The foreperson should also keep the Grand Jury operating in an orderly fashion.

It is the duty of the Commonwealth's Attorney, or his or her assistants, to attend the sessions of the Grand Jury. The Commonwealth's Attorney, or his or her assistants, serves as the legal advisors to the Grand Jury. It is furthermore his or her duty to assist the jury in the examination of witnesses. At the Grand Jury's direction, he or she prepares indictments, dismissals or other orders. It is also the Commonwealth's Attorney's, or his or her assistants', duty to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses or the production of evidence before the Grand Jury. At the Grand Jury's request, he or she assists in the preparation of the final report if the jury decides to return one to the Court.

The Rules of Criminal Procedure require that all testimony and evidence presented before a Grand Jury must be kept secret unless otherwise ordered by the Court. This admonition applies to the Commonwealth's Attorney or any of his/her assistants who may be present and all Grand Jurors. No one may examine a Grand Juror on what a witness said, what any other Grand Juror said, or how any Grand Juror voted. No person except the attorney or attorneys for the Commonwealth, the witness under examination, an interpreter if necessary, a parent, guardian or custodian or a minor witness, and the Grand Jurors shall be present while the Grand Jury is in session. Only the twelve (12) Grand Jurors shall be present while the Grand Jury is deliberating or voting. Violation of the secrecy admonition or the presence of persons other than Grand Jurors while the Grand Jury is deliberating or voting is punishable by the offender being found in contempt of court.

After the witnesses and evidence have been presented to the Grand Jury, it is then time for the Grand Jurors to discuss among themselves whether an indictment should be returned, whether the charge should be dismissed, or whether more testimony or evidence is necessary in order to reach a decision. The results of the Grand Jury's deliberations are to be communicated only to the Commonwealth's Attorney or his or her assistants.

Any indictment returned by the Grand Jury must be endorsed a true bill and signed by the foreperson. All dismissals must be stamped "Dismissed" and endorsed by the foreperson. This is true even though the foreperson may not agree with nine (9) or more of the other jurors. An indictment is not valid unless it is marked "A TRUE BILL" and signed by the foreperson. The names of all witnesses who testified before the Grand Jury must appear on the face of the indictment. The completed indictment, or an order of dismissal, is then presented to the Court and read by the Circuit Clerk. All twelve (12) jurors must be present while the jury is in session, deliberating or voting, and returning its findings in open Court.

The Grand Jury is an independent accusatorial and investigative body. The Grand Jury is assisted and advised by the Commonwealth's Attorney and his or her staff; however, the Grand Jury is not a part of the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney. The Grand Jury's responsibility is to its fellow citizens and to the Court. The Grand Jury should never consider itself as a rubber stamp.