Fallout from Ferguson: The Role and Purpose of the Grand Jury

Grand Juries, in the context of my practice, are merely a formality.  Generally, I've been retained long before the grand jury convenes to ceremoniously, but not surprisingly, issue indictments.  The saying that a "grand jury will indict a ham sandwich" exists for a reason.  I never advise my client that grand jury "may not" indict them.  It is generally a foregone conclusion.  

This article does a good job of explaining the role and purpose of the Grand Jury.

If I want to challenge that probable cause exists to indict my client, then I will request a preliminary hearing, to wit, an adversarial hearing in which the Judge will determine whether probable cause exists to indict.

So, perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Ferguson situation is that the grand jury did not indict.  However, there appears to be a good explanation for this anomaly.  To wit, I think the large-scale media coverage of the entire incident led the Prosecutor to put the indictment solely in the hands of the grand jury.  Though this is not the normal way the process works, I think it makes sense if the Prosecutor was inclined not to indict Office Wilson and wanted to ensure the matter received the most thorough and impartial review the law would allow.