federal grand jury duty???

[saminalham]

What is the name of your state? Tennessee
Because I am a registered voter, i have, for the first time in my life, been called for Federal Grand Jury duty in Nashville, Tennessee. I don't have a problem with serving, but would like to know what to expect if any of you have been involved with this before. I really don't hardly know what the Federal Grand Jury determines, if anything, other than whether or not Federal cases can be tried.

Just curious. Any comments appreciated.

Saminalham

[racer72]

Cool, I would like that. First, jury pools are no longer limited to registered voters, most states and the federal government use a list of those with driver's licenses and state ID cards. A former co-worker of mine was selected for a grand jury about 10 years ago, it lasted about 6 weeks in his case. And instead of typical criminal case most folks see when called to jury duty, grand juries decide whether the federal government should seek prosecution. Jurors are actually allowed to ask questions, that is a big no no in a regular court room. [URL="http://jctmac.tripod.com/fgj.html"]this site [URL] has a lot of information you can use.

[Ohiogal]

Federal grand juries determine federal prosecution, state grand juries (or county) determine whether the state will prosecute. They have differing periods of time. i was summoned for grand jury for this Tuesday and was told if selected that I would spend the next two months determining if people should be prosecuted for crimes.

[tigger22472]

I think it would be cool too!!

Basically a grand jury determines if there is enough evidence for the prosecution to take an issue to trial.

[saminalham]

Okay, I agree that it might be interesting, but my 'on call' duty is for the month of October. IF a case starts in October, could it possibly last longer than that. It sounds like it from your responses, but I need to let my employer know what 'could' happen. This is Federal Grand Jury Duty. Also, since only 6 people in the LARGE hospital I work for are qualified to do what I do, can I get out of it if I need to? (any advice on how to) I did not request this on the original 2 page questionnaire that I sent in last month. I want to do my duty, but don't want to miss weeks of work. (what are the chances of that?)

Thanks again!!!
Saminalham

[Ohiogal]

YOu would not be on the jury for a trial. YOu would be on grand jury which is determining if there is probable cause for federal cases to be tried. So the trials will not be long like the OJ case. It is very likely that the judge will ask people who show up if they can serve or if they have concerns. If you have a concern (6 people in the hospital can do what you do) then state that. It depends on many different factors - what exactly your job is, what kind of hospital it is. Employers cannot prohibit you from attending jury duty.