In the year since protestors in Staten Island and Missouri set off a national discussion on race, policing and grand jury practices, New York and other states have adopted or proposed a wide range of reforms to their grand jury systems. With the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown—and the subsequent decisions by grand juries not to indict the police officers who were involved in those fatalities—grand juries were thrust into the public consciousness. Commentators and politicians have proposed a number of far-reaching and varied proposals to alter, and in some cases eliminate, the grand jury.
On one end of the spectrum, some states have or are considering eliminating the grand jury in whole or in part.1 Other states, including New York, have provided for a special prosecutor in the event that an officer is involved in a fatality.2 Several states have also sought a committee review process, to carefully examine the status of the grand jury and propose reforms.3 A number of other states have enacted or are considering a myriad of proposals, including increased transparency, evidentiary inferences and other procedural reforms to address perceived shortcomings of the grand jury system.4 Although the debate has been robust nationwide, most states, however, have not yet enacted reform legislation.5
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
