Picked For A Grand Jury In Louisiana? Read This

I recently received a letter in the mail that I had been selected to potentially serve on a Grand Jury for state court. Even as a lawyer, I was unsure what that meant.

The letter said to call the jury line the day before to “ensure your appearance and participation is necessary.” I called and reached a recording that instructed me to show up at the time printed in the letter.

I showed up, checked in with a clerk, and gave her the notice I received. An assistant district attorney came out and explained the process to everyone. The judge then came out and explained things in more detail.

A Grand Jury is impaneled every six months. It’s made up of a cross section of the community. It plays an important role in the criminal justice system because the Grand Jury hears cases that the State is deciding whether there is enough evidence to bring the case to trial. A Grand Jury only decides if there was “probable cause” for the charges to be brought against the defendant. The Grand Jury must return an indictment for the case to be brought at the trial level.

The Grand Jury is an accusatory body and not a censor of public morals. In other words, the Grand Jury is there to ensure there is enough evidence to bring a case. The Grand Jury only hears the prosecutor’s side of the case. This is different from when you may serve on a Petit Jury (or trial jury) because in that situation you would hear the entire case from both sides and decide if the person is guilty or not guilty. In a Grand Jury, you hear the case and determine whether a person should stand trial.

The Grand Jury is made up of 12 people and the State needs nine of those people to agree there was enough evidence to return an indictment. If you are selected for the Grand Jury, you will meet once a week for six months for half a day.

Selection Process

After the judge explained the process he asked if there is anyone who would like to be excused from Grand Jury Duty. You will only be excused if serving on a Grand Jury will cause an extreme hardship or inconvenience. The court keeps track of those excuses. If you are seeking to be excused, you will walk up to the bench where the judge is sitting and explain your situation. If you are excused, then you can leave. If not, then you sit back down.

Qualifications To Serve

1. Must be a citizen of the United States, a citizen of the state of Louisiana, and have lived in the parish for at least one year.
2. Must be at least 18 years old.
3. Must be able to read, write, and speak the English language.
4. Not be under interdiction or incapable of serving as a juror because of a physical or mental infirmity. No person shall be deemed incompetent because of hearing loss.
5. Not be under indictment for a felony, incarcerated, convicted of a felony and were not pardoned, or on probation or parole for a felony within the past five years.

Once the judge has heard from everyone who is trying to be excused, they put everyone’s name in an envelope and randomly pick 12 people. The rest are excused.