Grand juries: what they didn't teach me in civics

Nothing will show you how much you don't know about government and the justice system as effectively as splashing into local news coverage as a cub reporter.

You will find yourself asking what the difference is between a regular jury and a grand jury, the difference between civil and criminal lawsuits, what role the municipal councils have with relation to the county commission, why there are county schools in cities that have school systems and so forth.

And you will learn the hard way. The answers to some of these questions will depend on where you work. Each city, county and state has its own unique operational characteristics.

The answer to the grand jury question, by the way, is here, from uscourts.gov:

''A grand jury decides if there is a probable cause to indict (accuse) individuals or corporations on criminal charges based upon the evidence presented. Grand jury sessions are held in a private room with only the grand jury, which consists of 23 individuals, government lawyers, court reporters, an interpreter if needed, and the witnesses to be heard, all under oath."

The U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment requires a grand jury indictment for federal criminal charges. According to the American Bar Association, every federal jurisdiction has one, and it usually sits for about five or six consecutive days per month. Some states don't use them, however; other states in the subset that do use them require their indictment for only certain crimes.