THE GRAND JURY

GRAND JURY LESSON PLAN

Objectives

1. Students will learn the basic facts about the Grand Jury.
2. Students will understand the basic process that the Grand Jury follows.
3. Students will understand the differences between the Grand Jury and a trial jury.

This lesson consists of three sections and each section should take about 15 minutes:

1. A cooperative learning exercise to learn the basic facts about the Grand Jury.
2. A debriefing of the of the first activity and a completion of an outline about the Grand Jury.
3. A comparison between the Grand Jury and a trial jury.

Section 1: Each One. Teach One
Using index cards or strips of paper, write out sixteen basic facts about the Grand Jury. Make two sets of these cards, divide the class in half and give each student one card. Have the students read and understand their fact and then have them teach it to the other students in their group.

Section 2: Debriefing Exercise
Distribute the "Grand Jury Worksheet," which contains a basic drawing of a typical Grand Jury room and an outline to be completed with information about the Grand Jury. There should be a discussion about the drawing, and the students should fill out the outline using the information they learned from each other during "Each One, Teach One" about the Grand Jury. Additional questions about the Grand Jury may be raised at this time and additional information can be supplied by the teacher.

Section 3: Comparing Grand and Petit (Trial) Juries
The concluding activity can be accomplished using an overhead projector. Using two columns, have students list the differences between the Grand Jury and a trial or petit jury.