Grand juries are a necessary and integral part to process of convicting individuals for felonies. They are governed by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 19.01 et seq. and 20.01 et seq. and are typically impaneled to “investigate” felonious crimes in secret. In fact, the proceedings are so secretive that a grand juror, bailiff, interpreter, stenographer, or person operating an electronic recording device for purposes of testimony cannot disclose anything transpiring before the grand jury. If they do, they can be fined up to $500.00 and jailed for up to 30 days.

During a grand jury proceeding, a prosecutor is able to present the state’s case to the grand jury, who will review the evidence and witness testimony to determine if there is probable cause to formally bring suit against the defendant. The grand jury must return an indictment or a No Bill. If an indictment is returned, the prosecutor will charge the defendant with the crime and proceed to pursue the case in Court. If a No Bill is returned, the prosecutor cannot move forward with the case.

Unlike the prosecutor, neither the defendant nor his attorney has the right to be present during a grand jury proceeding unless called upon by the grand jury. Despite this, our firm proactively takes initial steps to send the grand jury documents to persuade a grand jury to return a No Bill and defeat the case before it can proceed any further. That is why our firm asks all its potential clients to retain us so that we can stop the State’s case dead in its tracks.