On Monday, Fulton County prosecutors will impanel a special purpose grand jury to help determine whether former President Donald Trump and his allies tried to criminally interfere with Georgia’s 2020 elections.
Here’s how it works:
It’s a group of 16 to 23 jurors selected to investigate a specific incident in which a crime might have taken place. How long that investigation can last is set ahead of time by the local superior court. For the Trump investigation, a group of Fulton judges greenlit an investigation period “not to exceed 12 months.” Like other grand juries, this group will conduct its proceedings in secret.
Regular grand juries in Fulton County serve for two months and typically hear hundreds of felony cases, from murders to kidnappings. This special grand jury will be focused only on the Trump matter.
Like a regular grand jury, special grand juries can subpoena witnesses to testify. They can consult with experts and compel the production of documents, emails and other records. But, unlike regular grand juries, special grand juries can’t issue indictments. They instead issue a report at the end of their service that makes recommendations for action, including possible charges.
Prosecutors can choose to ignore or follow those recommendations. Should they opt to pursue charges, they would need to re-present the case in front of a separate, regular grand jury that has the power to...
A popular social media conspiracy theory about a recent cluster of hantavirus cases claims that the word “hanta” means “scam,” “fraud,” or “nonsense” in “Hebrew slang.” That’s more or less where t...