grand jury. A body of (often 23) people who are chosen to sit permanently for at least a month — and sometimes a year — and who, in ex parte proceedings, decide whether to issue indictments. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 6. • If the grand jury decides that evidence is strong enough to hold […]
grand jury 大陪审团 在刑事法庭审案期间由行政司法官选定并召集。其职责为受理刑事指控，听取控方提出的证据，决定是否将犯罪嫌疑人交付审判，而不是认定其是否有罪。称为「大」陪审团，因其成员的人数较通常的陪审团即小陪审团为多；普通法上由12-23人组成。大陪审团起源于1166年的《克拉伦登法》〔Assize of Clarendon〕。开始时对案件既负责起诉，又负责审理。逐渐演变为只决定是否对犯罪嫌疑人起诉，对案件的审理则由小陪审团承担。在英国，除个别情况外，大陪审团已于1933年取消；至1948年则被彻底废除。美国宪法第五条修正案规定，对可能判处死刑的犯罪和不名誉罪的指控，原则上必须经由大陪审团起诉。联邦法院的大陪审团由16-23人组成。各州法院大陪审团的人数，则各有不同。
A body of (often 23) people who are chosen to sit permanently for at least a month — and sometimes a year — and who, in ex parte proceedings, decide whether to issue indictments. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 6. • If the grand jury decides that evidence is strong enough to hold a suspect