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THE AMERICAN JURY BULWARK OF DEMOCRACY |
About the Project Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago Chicago Historical Society National Endowment for the Humanities |
Jury Trials for the Classroom
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HISTORY AND PURPOSE
Origins of the American Jury
Formation of the American Jury
STRUCTURE
Grand Jury
Right of the Accused to Trial by Jury
Jury Selection: Voir Dire
Jury of One's Peers
Jury Deliberation
ISSUES
Evidence
Jury Nullification
Jury Trials and the Media
Jury Damage Awards
Comparative Jury Systems
FUTURE
Jury in American Society
Jury Reform
Future of the American Jury
Enshrined in the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution and used in over half of state courts, the grand jury is still one of the most mysterious and misunderstood institutions in the American legal system. What is its purpose? How does it work and what does it do? Is it a protection or a danger to liberty?
This section of "The American Jury" provides resources and classroom strategies for examining the origins, powers, and purposes of the grand jury. It also includes activities and resources about certain concerns that have arisen in the work of both state and federal grand juries.
LIST OF LESSONS
- Each One, Teach One
Strategy
Facts - Grand Jury De-Brief
Student Handout in MS Word
Teacher Guide in MS Word - Comparing Grand and Petit Juries
Classroom Overhead in MS Word
Teacher Guide in MS Word
Suggested Reforms of the Grand Jury:
A Summary
LINKS TO RELEVANT SITES
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The History of the English and Colonial Grand Juries
Frequently Asked Questions about the Grand Jury System
Frequently Asked Questions about Grand Juries
Federal Grand Jury Reform Report & 'Bill of Rights'
Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors
PRINT RESOURCES
Administrative Office of the United States Courts.Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors.
Alden, Bill. "Access to Hiss Transcripts Granted,"New York Law Journal, May 14, 1999.
Bendavid, Naftali. "Powerful Grand Jury System is Shrouded in Secrecy," Chicago Tribune, February 19, 1998.
Brenner, Susan."The Voice of the Community: A Case for Grand Jury Independence," Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law (1995).
Brenner, Susan."Is the Grand Jury Worth Keeping?"Judicature, Volume 81, Number 5 (March-April 1998).
Johnson, Kevin and Tom Squitieri."Grand Jurors Clearly Have Own Minds," USA Today, June 30, 1998.
Kennedy, Randall."Race and the Composition of Juries: Setting the Ground Rules," Race, Crime and the Law (1997: Vintage), Chapter 5, especially pp. 182-192.
Novak, Tim."Keeping Grand Jury's Secrets,"Chicago Sun-Times, September 18, 1998.
Turow, Scott."When a Secret Proceeding Has No Secrets,"New York Times (reprinted in Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, August 12, 1998).