States with citizen-initiated grand juries
A citizen-initiated grand jury is a process that allows citizens to collect signatures to call for the formation of a criminal grand jury. Six states have laws allowing citizens to impanel grand juries through the process of collecting signatures on petitions: Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada and Oklahoma. In these states, if citizens collect the required number of signatures, a judge must summon a grand jury to investigate the alleged crime. Grand juries decide whether or not charges can be brought against a suspect.[1]
Grand jury
- See also: Grand jury
A grand jury is defined as "a group of people who look at the evidence against someone who has been accused of a crime in order to decide if there should be a trial."[2]
Prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury, which decides whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. Grand juries are made up of 16 to 23 people, who serve for a period of one month up to one year.
Grand jury sessions are held in private, usually not in the presence of the alleged criminal. Grand juries may request additional evidence such as witness testimony or documents to investigate on their own unimpeded by outside influence.[3]
The Supreme Court case United States v. Williams (1992) said that a grand jury is "a kind of buffer or referee between the Government and the people."[4] It decides if there is enough evidence to formally charge a suspect with a crime.
Requirements by state
The following table outlines the signature requirement to compel a judge to summon a grand jury in each state as well as the law governing the citizen-initiated grand jury process in each state.
| State | Signatures required for grand jury | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 100 plus 2% of the total number of votes cast for governor in the county in the last preceding election | Kansas Code 22-3001 |
| New Mexico | 2% of the registered voters of the county | Article II, Section 14, New Mexico Constitution |
| North Dakota | 25% of the number of votes cast in the county for the office of governor of the state at the last general election | North Dakota Century Code 29-10-1 |
| Nebraska | 10% of the number of votes cast in the county for the office of governor of the state at the last general election | Nebraska Revised Statutes 29-1401.02 |
| Nevada | 25% of the number of voters voting within the county at the last preceding general election | Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 6.130 |
| Oklahoma | To convene a grand jury in any county, the minimum number of signatures required in any of Oklahoma's 77 counties is 500 and the maximum is 5,000. Within those limits, the number of signatures required is equal to the number of signatures required to propose legislation by a county by initiative petition as provided in Section 5 of Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution | Article 2, Sec. 18 of the Oklahoma Constitution and Oklahoma Statutes Title 38 |
States with the ability to convene grand juries with citizen petitions
The following map shows states that provide a process for citizens to collect signatures to compel a judge to convene a grand jury.
See also
- Changes in 2025 to laws governing ballot measures
- Changes in 2024 to laws governing ballot measures
- Petitions to impanel grand juries
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Reforming the Grand Jury Process: Recent Efforts to Improve Public Confidence in Cases Involving Police Use of Lethal Force," accessed October 19, 2023
- ↑ Merriam-Webster.com, "Grand jury," accessed October 16, 2015
- ↑ Legal Information Institute, "Grand jury," accessed October 16, 2015
- ↑ Legal Information Institute, "United States v. Williams (90-1972), 504 U.S. 36 (1992)," accessed October 16, 2015
- ↑ KWCH, "Grand jury declines new charges in groundbreaking Kansas rape case," accessed October 19, 2023
- ↑ Law Journal, "THE JURY IS STILL OUT: SHOULD KANSAS CONTINUE TO ALLOW ITS CITIZENS TO INITIATE GRAND JURIES?" accessed October 19, 2023
- ↑ Wichita Eagle, "Court limits citizen-petitioned grand juries," May 7, 2008
- ↑ Kansas Supreme Court, "Tiller v. Corrigan, Text of the decision," May 6, 2008
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Law Journal, "THE JURY IS STILL OUT: SHOULD KANSAS CONTINUE TO ALLOW ITS CITIZENS TO INITIATE GRAND JURIES?" accessed October 19, 2023
- ↑ Associated Press, "After citizens petition, grand jury indicts adult business," November 30, 2005
- ↑ NM Political Report, "NM Supreme Court rules citizen grand juries on state emergency orders are invalid," accessed October 19, 2023
- ↑ Tulsa World, "OK given to circulate petition for grand jury," April 18, 2008
- ↑ KTUL, "Woman Arrested for Death of Broken Arrow Teen in 2006," accessed October 19, 2023
- ↑ Helena Independent Record, "Lawmakers won't support 'citizens grand jury' ballot initiative," accessed October 6, 2023
- ↑ Montana Free Press, "Bills seek to permit citizen grand juries in Montana," accessed October 19, 2023