Can a grand jury be asked to indict again, if it fails to do so?

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Note: The comments and questions on this page came from people who visited this website. Please feel free to send your comments and questions to Professor Brenner (brenner@udayton.edu). She will respond privately, and may ask permission to post your message on this page. No one's e-mail will be used without first obtaining their permission, and names and e-mail addresses are removed before a comment is posted. Starting in 2002, the responses posted to the site indicate which of us replied: The initials SWB mean Professor Brenner wrote the response; the initials LES mean Professor Shaw wrote the response. We are also putting the year down, to indicate when the response was posted. If no initials appear, Professor Brenner wrote the response.

Can a grand jury be asked to indict again, if it fails to do so?

Does a student have to serve on a grand jury, give how much time it takes?

I was surprised that one of the FAQ's did not include my question: If the grand jury fails to indict once, can't the prosecution go back to the grand jury again on the same case, perhaps with more evidence?

Also, I have heard that it is almost impossible to refuse service on a grand jury, but are there a list of exceptions, such as someone being in college full-time? With such a lengthy service, how could a student possibly serve?

Response:

If a grand jury fails to indict, the prosecution can go back to the same grand jury or to another and seek an indictment . . . absent some rule to the contrary. This is permissible in the federal system, and is also permissible in at least some states. If you are talking about a state grand jury, you'd have to check to be
sure there is no statute to the contrary.

It is very difficult, especially in the federal system, to be excused, though even the federal system does have categories of people who are automatically excused . . . and one can always try to convince a judge that he or she should be excused. The same tends to be true in the states. If you click on the Federal or State Grand Jury Information button at the top of this page, you'll find information on this.

SWB

2002

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