grand jury

noun

1. a jury, at common law, of 12 to 23 persons, designated to inquire into alleged violations of the law in order to ascertain whether the evidence is sufficient to warrant trial.

grand jury

noun

1. law (esp in the US and, now rarely, in Canada) a jury of between 12 and 23 persons summoned to inquire into accusations of crime and ascertain whether the evidence is adequate to found an indictment. Abolished in Britain in 1948 Compare petit jury

grand jury

1. A jury that decides whether the evidence warrants bringing an accused person to trial. Once indicted (see indictment) by a grand jury, a person must stand trial.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grand jury¹

First recorded in 1490–1500, grand jury is from Anglo-French graund juree

Example Sentences

Prosecutors acknowledged during a Wednesday hearing that a full grand jury never reviewed the final charging document.

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“What we’re saying is this would have been a potential charge for the grand jury to consider. I can’t tell you how the grand jury would have come out on it,” he said.

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Halligan’s confession comes mere days after a federal judge accused prosecutors of “profound investigative misteps” that could “potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.”

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In granting Comey's defence team access to all grand jury materials, Judge Fitzpatrick has also ordered the justice department to hand over complete audio recordings of the proceedings.

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“However, the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding,” Fitzpatrick wrote on Monday.

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