(27) Drawing on its precedent from 1940 forward, the Court declared, "the selection of a
petit jury (28) from a representative cross section of the community is an essential component of the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial." (29) A cross-section of the community is key to criminal trials because a jury composed from various geographical areas and racial groups is better equipped to judge the gravity of community members' actions, more impartial to the defendant, and consistent with each citizen's duty and right to participate in the civil process.
I had been called to
petit jury service before--the 12 people comprising a trial jury--and had been picked for one.
or stricter than the
petit jury's recurred frequently.
American criminal procedure developed on the assumption that grand juries and
petit jury trials were the ultimate safeguards of fair procedures and accurate outcomes.
Louisiana, "[t]he unmistakable import of this Court's opinions, at least since (1940) and not repudiated by intervening decisions, is that the selection of a
petit jury from a representative cross section of the community is an essential component of the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial." (74)
The Department of Justice continues to investigate possible federal civil rights charges against Pantaleo, a strategy that appears more promising given the chance that a different grand or
petit jury (drawn from a broader pool of an entire federal district) may view and interpret that video differently.
Further, the critical characteristic of impartiality in the
petit jury is ensured, in part, by the fact that the roll and the panel are produced through a random selection process.
A grand jury is different from a "
petit jury" or a "trial jury," which is the regular jury that decides the guilt or innocence of a defendant.
DISQUALIFICATION TO SERVE AS A GRAND OR PETIT JUROR FREQUENTLY USED WORDS AND PHRASES GRAND JURY AND
PETIT JURY DISTINGUISHED HISTORY OF THE GRAND JURY THE GRAND JURY AS AN ACCUSING AND INVESTIGATIVE BODY OFFICERS OF THE GRAND JURY PROCEDURES PROCEEDINGS OF THE GRAND JURY DETERMINATION WHETHER TO RETURN AN INDICTMENT OR A NO TRUE BILL THE STATE ATTORNEY (OR THE STATEWIDE PROSECUTOR) AS LEGAL ADVISOR TO THE GRAND JURY SECRECY OF GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS PROTECTION AND IMMUNITY OF GRAND JURORS ON BEING A GRAND JUROR--SOME PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION
A grand jury is traditionally larger than and distinguishable from a
petit jury or the trial jury, which is used during a trial.
(114) The federal grand jury is selected in the same manner as a
petit jury and the basic qualifications for serving on the grand jury are the same as those for petit jurors.
As Judge Raggi was sure to point out, though, this "special solicitude for local values in the selection of a federal
petit jury" would be rejected if the local value at hand stood in opposition to "civil rights, environmental, or gun trafficking requirements that are enforced through federal criminal law." Id.