The February session of the Jackson County Grand Jury convened Monday morning at the county courthouse to decide whether or not to issue indictments against several individuals charged recently in county courts.
The Grand Jury is required by law to meet three times a year, typically in February, June and October. According to Rule 6 of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure, a Grand Jury consists of 16 individuals, with a requirement of 15 to be in attendance at all times to maintain a quorum.
Grand Jury sessions are held under a general rule of secrecy. Only attorneys for the state, their witnesses, and a stenographer are allowed to be present during the Grand Jury session.
However, only Grand Jury members are allowed to be in the room during deliberations on an indictment. Twelve members must agree on whether or not to indict for a particular crime.
Jurors are given a book of statutes for all the crimes they may be presented with. If jurors have any questions on the law, they direct those to the judge; the Prosecuting Attorney is not allowed to advise the jurors on questions of the law.
Judge Thomas C. Evans, III, is the Circuit Court Judge presiding over the Jackson County Grand Jury.
There are two ways in which a person’s case may reach the Grand Jury. First is if the defendant’s case has already been bound for indictment following a preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court.
The second is through a direct indictment process where criminal charges have yet to be filed. These are most often used in sexual assault cases so that the victim does not have to testify at the preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court.
Deciding which cases to present to the Grand Jury is based upon the sole discretion of the Prosecuting Attorney. After a person has been arrested, the prosecutor generally has a year to indict them.
The main difference between Grand Jury proceedings and those of regular trial juries is the burden of proof.
Unlike trial juries where the burden of proof for jurors is beyond a reasonable doubt, Grand Jurors only need to find if there is probable cause to sustain a charge for indictment. Probable cause is generally defined as a reasonable belief or suspicion that person has committed a crime.
According to law enforcement sources, the Grand Jury is expected to return over 50 indictments this week. Indictments are expected to be issued after press deadline late Wednesday evening. A complete listing will appear in the Tuesday, March 3, Herald.
