Quote:
Originally Posted by gideongallery
you can't be that stupid, grand juries don't decide that they are probably guilty, they decide if there is any possibility of a case, based on the one sided presentation of the evidence.
That why the principle of innocent UNTIL proven guilty is in place
because a grand jury will convict a ham sandwich
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Juries, petit and grand, make mistakes. Grand juries are charged with deciding whether or not there is "probable cause to believe" the accused commited the crime. "probable cause to believe" is the standard, in other words if they are probably guilty. Yes, based on a one sided presentation, which makes sense if the arrest / raid needs to catch the accused off guard, but perhaps not otherwise.
I replied to the post asking "what court, what witnesses", pointing out there there were in fact hearings and witnesses. That's not to say that the system is perfect, of course, but the poster seemed to think there was no hearing at all before the seizure.
I'm curious, when you get called for jury duty, will you indict or convict a ham sandwich? There has been a major change since Judge Wachtler's ham sandwich comment - grand juries are now called up from the full citizenry, just like petit juries. Again, that doesn't make them prefect, but it is due process of law.