"The grand jury [has] a unique role in our criminal justice system." It was born of a desire to identify more criminals for prosecution and thereby to increase the King's revenues. But the exclusive power to accuse is also the power not to accuse and early on the grand jury became both the "sword and the shield of justice." This dual character marks the federal grand jury to this day. As the sword of justice, it enjoys virtually unfettered power to secretly investigate the mere possibility that federal laws may have been broken. Yet it remains a potential shield for it must give its approval before anyone may be brought to trial for a serious federal crime. What follows is a brief general description of the federal grand jury, with particular emphasis on its more controversial aspects—relationship of the prosecutor and the grand jury, the rights of grand jury witnesses, grand jury secrecy, and rights of targets of a grand jury investigation. The grand jury is an institution of antiquity. When William the Conqueror sought to compile the Domesday Book, he called upon the most respected men of each community. Their reports were collected to form an inventory of England's property, real and personal, and served as the foundation of the Crown's tax rolls. Almost a century later in the Assize of Clarendon, the ancestor of the modern grand jury, Henry II used the same approach to unearth reports of crime, and thereby increase the flow of fines and forfeitures into his treasury. From the power to accuse, the power to refuse to accuse eventually developed. By the American colonial period, the grand jury had become both an accuser and a protector. It was the protector the Founders saw when they enshrined the grand jury within the Bill of Rights and the reason it has been afforded extraordinary inquisitorial powers and exceptional deference. The Fifth Amendment right to grand jury indictment is only constitutionally required in federal cases. In a majority of the states, prosecution may begin either with an indictment or with an information or complaint filed by the prosecutor. Although abolition of the right to indictment in the states and abolition of the grand jury itself in England were primarily matters of judicial efficiency, most of the more contemporary proposals to change the federal grand jury system are the product of concern for the fairness of the process or for perceived excesses caused by prosecutorial exuberance. The authority of a federal grand jury is sweeping, but it is limited to the investigation of possible violations of federal criminal law triable in the district in which it is sitting. This does not include the power to investigate conduct known to have no connection to the court's jurisdiction, but does encompass the authority to inquire whether such a connection may exist. The grand jury may begin its examination even in the absence of probable cause or any other level of suspicion that a crime has been committed within its reach. In the exercise of its jurisdiction, the grand jury may "investigate merely on suspicion that the law is being violated, or even just because it wants assurance that it is not," and its inquiries "may be triggered by tips, rumors, evidence proffered by the prosecutor, or the personal knowledge of the grand jurors." Unrestrained "by questions of propriety or forecasts of the probable result of the investigation or by doubts whether any particular individual will be found properly subject to an accusation," its "investigation is not fully carried out until every available clue has been run down and all witnesses examined in every proper way to find if a crime has been committed." Federal law requires the various United States District Courts to order one or more grand juries to be summoned when the public interest requires. In addition, the Attorney General may request the District Court to summon a special grand jury in any of the larger districts or when he or she believes the level of criminal activity in the district warrants it. Historically, the sheriff selected the members of the grand jury. The practice of having the sheriff of the county select the members of the grand jury continued for some time in England and in colonial America, although grand jurors were elected in some colonies. At one time, federal law addressed matters governing the selection, qualifications and exemptions of federal grand jurors largely by reference to the law of the state in which the grand jury was to be convened. These matters are now the responsibility of the court, governed by the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968, and the selection plan established for the district in which the grand jury is to be convened. Federal grand jurors must be citizens of the United States, 18 years of age or older and residents of the judicial district for at least a year, be able to read, write and understand English with sufficient proficiency to complete the juror qualification form, be able to speak English, and be mentally and physically able to serve; those facing pending felony charges and those convicted of a felony (if their civil rights have not been restored) are ineligible. Discrimination in selection on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status is prohibited. Grand jurors must be "selected at random from a fair cross section of the community in the district or division wherein the court convenes." Either a defendant, an attorney for the government, or a member of an improperly excluded group may challenge the selection of a grand jury panel contrary to these requirements. Since the grand jury began with indictments based upon the personal knowledge of the members of the panel, there is some historical justification for the position that bias or want of impartiality should not disqualify a potential grand juror. The drafters of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure seemed to confirm this view when they rejected proposed language permitting a challenge of the grand jury based on "bias or prejudice." One commentator points out, however, that language in several Supreme Court cases has led some lower courts to assert that grand juries must be unbiased, or at least they must not be exposed to improper influences that would create bias. The case law also seems to focus on any contamination of the panel as a whole and to rely upon each grand juror's faithfulness to his or her oath to avoid the adverse consequences of individual bias. Grand jury panels consist of 16 to 23 members, 16 of whom must be present for a quorum, and 12 of whom must concur to indict. The size of grand jury panels is a remnant of the common law, but the common law treatises and the cases provide little indication of why those particular numbers were chosen. Of course, when the grand jury's accusations were based primarily upon the prior knowledge of the panel's members, larger panels were more understandable. The movement, which led to abolition of the right to indictment in many of the states, also resulted in a reduction in the size of most state grand jury panels. Perhaps because of a reluctance to dilute the federal constitutional right to indictment, there have been few suggestions for a comparable reduction in the size of the federal grand jury. The selection of 23 members for a panel which requires only the presence of 16 to conduct its business would seem to obviate the need for alternate grand jurors. This is not the case, however, and the rules permit the court to direct the selection of alternate grand jurors at the same time and in the same manner as other members of the panel are selected. After selection, the court swears in members of the grand jury; names a "foreperson and deputy foreperson" and instructs the panel. Federal grand juries sit until discharged by the court, but generally for no longer than 18 months, with the possibility of one six month extension. Special grand juries convened in large districts or in districts with severe crime problems also serve until discharged or up to 18 months, but may be extended up to 36 months and in some cases beyond. The grand jury does not conduct its business in open court nor does a federal judge preside over its proceedings. The grand jury meets behind closed doors with only the jurors, attorney for the government, witnesses, someone to record testimony, and possibly an interpreter present. In many cases, the government will have already conducted an investigation and the attorney for the government will present evidence to the panel. In other cases, the investigation will be incomplete and the grand jury, either on its own initiative or at the suggestion of the attorney for the government, will investigate. Originally, the grand jury brought criminal accusations based exclusively on the prior knowledge of its members. Today, the grand jury acts on the basis of evidence presented by witnesses called for that purpose and only rarely on the personal knowledge of individual jurors. The attorney for the government will ordinarily arrange for the appearance of witnesses before the grand jury, will suggest the order in which they should be called, and will take part in questioning them. The grand jury most often turns to prosecutor legal advice and to draft most of the indictments, which the grand jury returns. Grand jury witnesses usually appear before the grand jury under subpoena. The rule calls for subpoenas to be available in blank for the "parties" to proceedings before the court, but "no one is meaningfully a party in a grand jury proceeding." Nevertheless, there seems little question that subpoenas may be issued and served at the request of the panel itself, although the attorney for the government usually "fills in the blanks" on a grand jury subpoena and arranges the case to be presented to the grand jury. Unjustified failure to comply with a grand jury subpoena may result in a witness being held in civil contempt, convicted for criminal contempt, or both. A witness who lies to a grand jury may be prosecuted for perjury, or for making false declarations before the grand jury. Conversely, others with information they wish to provide it to the grand jury are prohibited from doing so except through the court or the attorney for the government. Consequently, neither a potential defendant nor a grand jury target nor any of their counsel has any right to appear before the grand jury unless invited or subpoenaed. Nor does a potential defendant nor a grand jury target nor their counsel have any right to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury nor substantive objection.