Grand juries impaneled

SANDPOINT — Grand juries are being impaneled in Bonner County, according to notices posted in 1st District Court.

A grand jury was impaneled on April 7 and another one is being formed on May 3. Forty prospective jurors are being summoned for the latter panel.

Both notices bear the same sealed court case number.

Grand jury proceedings are conducted behind closed doors and are not open to the public, according to Idaho Code.

Grand juries can issue indictments which charge a person with a public offense. Indictments supplant criminal complaints, the traditional method of prosecuting an individual for an alleged offense.

Idaho law holds that grand juries can receive sworn witness testimony, legal documentary evidence and public records. Grand juries are not required to hear evidence of in favor a defendant, although state law requires the panel to weigh exculpatory evidence if it's available. Witnesses may also testify with immunity from criminal prosecution.

Indictments are to be issued if the all the evidence, taken together, is uncontradicted and would warrant a conviction by a trial jury, Idaho Code states. Grand jurors cannot be questioned about what they say or do while impaneled unless perjury is alleged.

Though somewhat rare, grand jury proceedings are not unheard of in Bonner County.

Grand juries in Bonner County have weighed indictments against defendants accused of murder and property-related crimes. Kootenai and Ada counties are also known to utilize grand jury proceedings.

They have also been used to prosecute certain sex crimes as the proceedings allow alleged victims to testify outside of a hearing that's open to the general public.

They also spare alleged victims from having to testify twice during open court proceedings. Crime victims in felony cases typically testify once during a preliminary hearing in magistrate court and again during a jury trial in district court.

Grand jury indictments bring defendants directly to district court to face trial, which sidesteps the requirement of a preliminary hearing at the magistrate court level.

Grand jury proceedings have some critics here and around the nation. Grand jury opponents argue that such proceedings infringe upon due process rights, favor prosecutors and involve jurors who lack legal knowledge.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.