Grand jury is being impaneled

SANDPOINT — Forty Bonner County residents are being issued summonses to report for grand jury duty, according to a notice posted at the county courthouse.

The grand jury is being impaneled on March 4. First District Judge Barbara Buchanan issued an order on Tuesday calling for the issuance of the 40 summonses.

The panel will be paired down to 16 jurors during the selection process.

Grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret and jurors are sworn to secrecy. Authorities are prevented from discussing the nature of the charges or who is being implicated until an indictment is returned.

The grand jury has broad investigative powers to gather documentary evidence and can compel witnesses to testify, according to Idaho Code. If the panel returns an indictment, an arrest warrant or summons is issued against the subject of the grand jury probe. The defendant proceeds directly to district court, where the person is arraigned and a trial date is scheduled.

The grand jury process bypasses the preliminary hearing stage of a typical criminal proceeding. Judges decide at preliminary hearings whether there is sufficient evidence to justify trying a defendant.

A grand jury was impaneled last June to consider charges against Stephen Mathew Lott, who is accused of killing his wife in 2004 and failing to report the death. Lott pleaded not guilty is scheduled to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge in district court in July.

Grand jury proceedings have also been used to prosecute other forms of crime in Bonner County, such as sex offenses, crackdowns on illegal drug trade, motorcycle clubs and shady car dealerships.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.