Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2004
Publication Title
Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law
Keywords
grand juries, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Abstract
In summer 2003, I was a grand jury foreperson for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Cleveland, Ohio. The service of this grand jury, and my tenure as foreperson, were unique in the annals of grand juries. We were selected and sworn in the same manner as any grand jury, but heard cases for only one day of our four-month term-the last day. In the interim, the prosecutor filed cases in two courts, seeking to discharge us, as being “tainted” by our supervising judge's initial instructions about our duties and the law. I begin this essay with basic information about grand juries, then tell what happened to our grand jury, and conclude by reflecting on what I learned from this experience. My theme is the tension between the grand jury's independence and the prosecutor's desire to control it. The lesson I learned, intellectually and emotionally, is the depth and tenacity of the prosecutor's assumption that he does control, and has the right to control, the grand jury process. I also learned some lessons about being a client, and believing in oneself and one's principles.
Repository Citation
Phyllis L. Crocker, Appointed but (Nearly) Prevented from Serving: My Experience as a Grand Jury Foreperson, 2 Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 289 (2004)
Volume
2
