Grand juries in the United States

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Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought. Like the jury system as a whole, grand juries originated in England and spread throughout the colonies of the British Empire as part of the English common law system. Today, the United States is one of only two jurisdictions, along with Liberia, that continues to use the grand jury to screen criminal indictments. Japan uses a system similar to U.S. grand juries to investigate corruption and other more systemic issues. As of 1971, generally speaking, a grand jury may issue an indictment for a crime, also known as a "true bill", only if it determines that those presenting had probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed by a criminal suspect. Unlike a petit jury, which resolves a particular civil or criminal case, a grand jury (typically...

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