tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090925.post8815908771262461919..comments2023-05-16T06:36:56.260-05:00Comments on not for the monosyllabic: The Adrian Peterson situation and the problem with prejudgingPDgirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14178960087735521340noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090925.post-31185636669113522532014-09-17T12:57:33.705-05:002014-09-17T12:57:33.705-05:00Good question w/ a less than clear answer. Yes and...Good question w/ a less than clear answer. Yes and no. A grand jury stands in place of the prosecution, determining whether there's enough evidence to charge a person and what charge is appropriate. During grand jury proceedings (which are secret), the defense attorney is not allowed to be there and the evidence is not subject to cross-examination or other review and the evidence may or may not be admissible at trial. Basically, the prosecution says "Here's the evidence we have and here are the charges we'd recommend you as the grand jury charge the defendant with." There is no review of the credibility of the people who testify in a grand jury proceeding, as that would typically be done by a defense attorney on cross-examination, and any problems with the evidence that might be exposed during a trial are unlikely to make it into the proceedings. <br /><br />Essentially, a grand jury just reviews the prosecution's best evidence, without any scrutiny provided to that evidence by a thorough trial process, and determines if there is probable cause for certain charges. And there's a well-known saying in the criminal justice world by a judge that "a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich, if that's what you want." It's rare that a grand jury rejects an indictment. It's not more proof than any other type of charging document. <br /><br />In sum, even if the grand jury has indicted someone so that the accusation isn't frivolous, that doesn't mean it's been proven.PDgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14178960087735521340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090925.post-55515007471835240242014-09-17T12:42:31.237-05:002014-09-17T12:42:31.237-05:00AP already went through a grand jury; doesn't ...AP already went through a grand jury; doesn't that mean somebody already reviewed the evidence and has shown that the claim isn't frivolous?OneByOffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15886940274763015321noreply@blogger.com