If any doubt persisted before about the basic functional importance of public juries and jurying to the day-to-day maintaining and practical improvement in function of our constitutional, limited, self-governance system, then this article goes a long way to removing those doubts.
You point out,
"The grand jury is not just a procedural speedbump on the way to prosecution. It is a constitutional safeguard against government abuse.
The Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be held to answer for a serious federal crime "unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury." The Framers of the Constitution included this protection because they distrusted concentrated government power. The grand jury is designed to act as an independent body that determines whether probable cause exists to charge someone with a crime. This independence is especially important because grand jury proceedings occur in secret; defense attorneys are not present.
If a prosecutor personally vouches for a case, communicates improperly with jurors, conceals information, manipulates the composition of the jury, or interferes with the jury's independent judgment, the prosecutor is essentially replacing the constitutional function of the grand jury with his or her own judgment. To that point, prosecutors are expected to be "scrupulously fair" and must not improperly influence grand jurors.
If grand juries become vehicles of prosecutorial power rather than independent evaluators, the Fifth Amendment’s protection becomes largely symbolic. When grand juries are corrupted, the issue is not merely misconduct. It is the failure of one of the Constitution's oldest protections against governmental overreach.
This is why courts take prosecutorial misconduct before a grand jury so seriously. And why judicial oversight of jury integrity matters greatly."
And, you point out,
"The story deserves attention not because it involves immigration protestors and not because it unfolded during a period of heightened political conflict. It matters because the grand jury is one of the few barriers that remain standing between ordinary citizens and the immense power of the federal government."
The effectiveness of the grand jury proceeding to the judicial process of finding and doing justice for any American and for the benefit of every American and for the integrity of our system of governance is of crucial importance.
I am grateful to you for this careful evaluation. I will share it with some young people who are studying the meaning of constitutionalism and of the functionality of the American Constitution in our society, in their lives.
I'm with Asha Rangappa, who writes Freedom Academy, that the Justice Department should have been put in a 4th Branch of government, away from the executive branch which may have a malignant president in charge and willing to use it as his own law firm, like the regime we have now. The Justice Department and other critical departments must remain independent of the executive branch to maintain what is necessary and crucial for democracy.
This type of structure away from the executive branch is more likely to guard against these types of federal prosecutors who, evidently lost their sense of integrity and truth in pursuit of justice. Why do these federal prosecutors allow themselves to fall prey to an obvious criminal president's personal grievances? Is that how they want justice to prevail? To knowingly mislead grand juries to get a probable charge decision for them is criminal in itself. Is this what they assiduously devoted their study of law to? To upend it with lies? These federal persecutors deserve whatever sanctions and penalties the judge sees fit to impose. That is justice.
Thank you, Ms Wehle, for this assessment.
If any doubt persisted before about the basic functional importance of public juries and jurying to the day-to-day maintaining and practical improvement in function of our constitutional, limited, self-governance system, then this article goes a long way to removing those doubts.
You point out,
"The grand jury is not just a procedural speedbump on the way to prosecution. It is a constitutional safeguard against government abuse.
The Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be held to answer for a serious federal crime "unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury." The Framers of the Constitution included this protection because they distrusted concentrated government power. The grand jury is designed to act as an independent body that determines whether probable cause exists to charge someone with a crime. This independence is especially important because grand jury proceedings occur in secret; defense attorneys are not present.
If a prosecutor personally vouches for a case, communicates improperly with jurors, conceals information, manipulates the composition of the jury, or interferes with the jury's independent judgment, the prosecutor is essentially replacing the constitutional function of the grand jury with his or her own judgment. To that point, prosecutors are expected to be "scrupulously fair" and must not improperly influence grand jurors.
If grand juries become vehicles of prosecutorial power rather than independent evaluators, the Fifth Amendment’s protection becomes largely symbolic. When grand juries are corrupted, the issue is not merely misconduct. It is the failure of one of the Constitution's oldest protections against governmental overreach.
This is why courts take prosecutorial misconduct before a grand jury so seriously. And why judicial oversight of jury integrity matters greatly."
And, you point out,
"The story deserves attention not because it involves immigration protestors and not because it unfolded during a period of heightened political conflict. It matters because the grand jury is one of the few barriers that remain standing between ordinary citizens and the immense power of the federal government."
The effectiveness of the grand jury proceeding to the judicial process of finding and doing justice for any American and for the benefit of every American and for the integrity of our system of governance is of crucial importance.
I am grateful to you for this careful evaluation. I will share it with some young people who are studying the meaning of constitutionalism and of the functionality of the American Constitution in our society, in their lives.
Another great and important post! Thank You, Kim! Restacking it!
I'm with Asha Rangappa, who writes Freedom Academy, that the Justice Department should have been put in a 4th Branch of government, away from the executive branch which may have a malignant president in charge and willing to use it as his own law firm, like the regime we have now. The Justice Department and other critical departments must remain independent of the executive branch to maintain what is necessary and crucial for democracy.
This type of structure away from the executive branch is more likely to guard against these types of federal prosecutors who, evidently lost their sense of integrity and truth in pursuit of justice. Why do these federal prosecutors allow themselves to fall prey to an obvious criminal president's personal grievances? Is that how they want justice to prevail? To knowingly mislead grand juries to get a probable charge decision for them is criminal in itself. Is this what they assiduously devoted their study of law to? To upend it with lies? These federal persecutors deserve whatever sanctions and penalties the judge sees fit to impose. That is justice.