Political Activists & Grand Juries
What is a grand jury?* The basics.
*This primer applies to federal grand juries. Some states also use grand jury systems, which operate similarly but may have different rules and procedures.
Grand juries are investigative bodies that were originally intended to protect the public from overzealous and unaccountable prosecutors by having a group of randomly selected citizens investigate crimes and determine whether there is enough “probable cause” to prosecute (“indict”) someone for a felony crime.
However, because of their secrecy and the power they give to the government to compel or force testimony, they have been used as tools to target and suppress political resistance movements, aka “witch hunts.”
Check out our Grand Juries Page for the full resource!
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