Historical Overview

The Fifth Amendment and Grand Jury Proceedings

Historical Overview

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1791, guarantees several fundamental rights in criminal prosecutions, including the right to a grand jury indictment.

Grand Jury Indictment

The Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury. This means that the government must obtain an indictment from a grand jury before it can prosecute someone for a serious crime.

Legal Basis

The Supreme Court has held that an indictment returned by a legally constituted and unbiased grand jury satisfies the requirement of the Fifth Amendment. This means that the grand jury must be selected randomly and that its members must not be biased against the accused.

Fifth Amendment Protections

The Fifth Amendment also provides other protections in grand jury proceedings, such as: * The right to counsel * The right to cross-examine witnesses * The right to present evidence * The right to a fair and impartial jury