Opinion ID: 3031870
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Historical Role of Grand Jury

Text: 1. The Early English Grand Jury: Quasi-Prosecutor The modern grand jury is a direct descendant of the English grand jury first employed more than 800 years ago.8 See United States v. Dionisio, 410 U.S. 1, 17 n.15 (1973); Costello, 350 U.S. at 362; Ex parte Bain, 121 U.S. 1, 11 (1887). Its origins belie its modern role as intermediary between the people and their government. The earliest grand juries were the tool of the Crown. In 1164, anxious to consolidate power 8 This historical summary is taken from 1 SARA SUN BEALE ET AL., GRAND JURY LAW AND PRACTICE § 1:1 (2d ed. 2001); MARVIN E. FRANKEL & GARY NAFTALIS, THE GRAND JURY: AN INSTITUTION ON TRIAL (2d ed. 1977); 1 WILLIAM S. HOLDSWORTH, A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LAW (1922); 1 & 2 FREDERICK POLLOCK & FREDERIC W. MAITLAND, THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LAW (2d ed. 1899); THEODORE F. T. PLUCKNETT, A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE COMMON LAW (5th ed. 1956); RICHARD D. YOUNGER, THE PEOPLE’S PANEL: THE GRAND JURY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1634-1941 (1963); Ric Simmons, Re-Examining the Grand Jury: Is there Room for Democracy in the Criminal Justice System?, 82 B.U. L. REV. 1 (2002); Andrew D. Leipold, Why Grand Juries Do Not (and Cannot) Protect the Accused, 80 CORNELL L. REV. 260 (1995); and Helene E. Schwartz, Demythologizing the Historic Role of the Grand Jury, 10 AM. CRIM. L. REV. 701 (1972). UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5523 held by the church and feudal barons, King Henry II signed the Constitutions of Clarendon, which created a jury “to charge all laity who were to be tried in ecclesiastical courts. Two years later he established the Assize of Clarendon, which was composed of twelve men who would ‘present’ those suspected of crimes to the royal courts.” Simmons, 82 B.U. L. REV. at 4. See also 1 HOLDSWORTH, supra, at 321-22. These acts reasserted the King’s power over his subjects and filled his coffers with the proceeds from chattels confiscated after conviction. During its first hundred years, the grand jury did not function as a shield to protect the accused, but as a sword to be wielded on behalf of the Crown. Indeed, the grand jury was “oppressive and much feared by the common people” because of its “unfettered power” and because the King would “manipulate the grand juries through suggestive instructions and fines levied against grand juries that failed to reach their quota of accusations.” Schwartz, 10 AM. CRIM. L. REV. at 709; Simmons, 82 B.U. L. REV. at 6. In this sense, the English grand jury was somewhat like a quasi-prosecutor for the King. United States v. Cox, 342 F.2d 167, 186-87 (5th Cir. 1965) (Wisdom, J., concurring). Indeed, grand juries were expected to bring charges based on their own knowledge, as well as consider charges brought by prosecutors. A grand juryinitiated charge was a “presentment,” while an “indictment” was prepared by the prosecutor and laid before the jury. See 4 WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES 298-307 (1769) (“A presentment, properly speaking, is the notice taken by a grand jury of any offence from their own knowledge or observation, without any bill of indictment laid before them at the suit of the king.”), reprinted in 5 THE FOUNDERS’ CONSTITUTION 251 (P. Kurland & R. Lerner, eds. 1987). The distinction between presentment and indictment is reflected in the text of our Fifth Amendment. The first real evidence of the grand jury acting as a shield to protect the accused was in 1681 when two London grand 5524 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS juries refused to indict the Earl of Shaftesbury and his follower Stephen Colledge, the political enemies of King Charles II. The Trial of the Earl of Shaftesbury, 8 How. St. Tr. 759, 771-74 (1681) reprinted in 5 THE FOUNDERS’ CONSTITUTION 246-47; The Trial of Stephen Colledge, at Oxford, for High Treason, 8 How. St. Tr. 549, 550 (1681). The King wanted them held over for public proceedings before the grand jury, but the grand jury insisted on conducting its inquiry in private. Given its powerful influence, the Crown expected a quick indictment pursuant to its charges. However, the grand jury returned the equivalent of a no-bill in the matter, defying the Crown’s will both in holding private proceedings and in its ultimate decision not to indict.9 The Shaftesbury and Colledge cases established grand jury secrecy, which continues to be a crucial element in grand juries serving as an independent screen. As grand jury secrecy became a matter of course, judges maintained less liberty to “cross-examin[e] grand jurors about their findings.” FRANKEL & NAFTALIS, supra, at 10. 2. The Colonial Grand Jury: Quasi-Legislative, QuasiAdministrative American colonists adopted the grand jury as integral to the common law system. In one of the earliest codifications of the grand jury’s role, the Pennsylvania Frame of Government, adopted in 1696, provided that The form of Grand Inquest’s attests shall be in these words, viz: 9 Insisting on the grand jury’s right to deliberate secretly, one juror defended his position, stating: “[I]n private [the grand jurors] are more free to examine things in particular, for the satisfying their own consciences, and that without favour or affection; and we hope we shall do our duty.” The Trial of the Earl of Shaftesbury, 8 How. St. Tr. 759, 77174 (1681) reprinted in 5 THE FOUNDERS’ CONSTITUTION 246-47. UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5525 Thou shalt diligently enquire, and true presentment make, of all such matters and things as shall be given thee in charge, or come to thy knowledge, touching this present service; the King’s counsel, thy fellows and thy own, thou shalt keep secret, and in all things thou shalt present the truth, and nothing but the truth, to the best of thy knowledge. The Frame of Government of the Province of Pennsylvania (1696), reprinted in 5 FRANCIS NEWTON THORPE, THE FEDERAL AND STATE CONSTITUTIONS, COLONIAL CHARTERS, AND OTHER ORGANIC LAWS OF THE STATES, TERRITORIES, AND COLONIES 3072 (1909). In America, the institution gained broad powers to propose legislation and perform various administrative tasks. Grand juries “exercised broad, unorthodox powers,” inspecting roads, jails, and other public buildings; monitoring public works expenditures, construction and maintenance; proposing new legislation; and criticizing poor administration. Simmons, 82 B.U. L. REV. at 10. The colonial grand jury still performed a quasi-prosecutorial role by accusing individuals suspected of crimes, but colonial grand juries demonstrated greater independence than their English counterparts, due in part to the relatively weak position of colonial governments. With their expanding quasi-legislative and quasiadministrative roles, grand juries acquired greater popularity because they were regarded as more representative of the people. “Through presentments and other customary reports, the American grand jury in effect enjoyed a roving commission to ferret out official malfeasance or self-dealing of any sort and bring it to the attention of the public at large,” becoming, as James Wilson put it, a “ ‘great channel of communication, between those who make and administer the laws, and those for whom the laws are made and administered.’ ” AKHIL REED AMAR, THE BILL OF RIGHTS: CREATION AND RECONSTRUCTION 85 (1998) (quoting 2 THE WORKS OF JAMES WILSON 537 (R. McCloskey, ed. 1967)). Following the English traditions established in the Shaftesbury and Colledge cases, grand jury secrecy remained an important part of grand jury proceedings 5526 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS in the colonies. Grand jurors pledged to an oath of secrecy, and its violation was both a contempt and a crime. BEALE, ET AL., supra, § 5:2 (citing 4 BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES at 226). While Colonial grand juries continued to serve as accusatory bodies, they occasionally refused to return indictments in high-profile cases. The most celebrated example in American history is that of John Peter Zenger, a newspaper publisher charged with libel after criticizing the Governor of New York. Based on the jury instructions, it seems clear that Zenger was guilty of the crime of libel. Nevertheless, three grand juries refused to indict not because of insufficient evidence but rather because the jurors were politically opposed to the prosecutions. BEALE, ET AL., supra, § 1:3. See also YOUNGER, supra, at 28 (discussing the Boston grand juries who refused to indict editors of the Boston Gazette for libeling the governor of Massachusetts and refusing to indict leaders of the Stamp Act Rebellion). As the Revolutionary War drew closer, the grand jury became popular “at least as much from its success as a political weapon as from its role in the criminal justice system.” Leipold, 80 CORNELL L. REV. at 285. Colonial grand juries publicly called for boycotts of British goods, condemned British rule, criticized the use of the tea tax to pay British officials’ salaries, and indicted British soldiers for breaking and entering into the homes of private citizens. Where the king’s grand juries had once colluded with the king’s prosecutors, in pre-Revolutionary America, colonial grand juries resisted the king’s representatives in America. The historical division of authority between grand juries and prosecutors became a fissure exposing the political division between the colonists and their king. Grand jurors, selected from the public, frustrated prosecutors loyal to the king by refusing to indict those charged under unpopular laws imposed by the Crown, often on the urging of colonial judges.10 Grand jury presentments 10 Ralph Lerner, The Supreme Court as Republican Schoolmaster, 1967 SUP. CT. REV. 127, 134 (1967) (noting that before the Revolutionary War, UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5527 served an additional function during this time: they became “excellent mediums of propaganda” as grand juries issued “stinging denunciations of Great Britain and stirring defenses of their rights as Englishmen.” YOUNGER, supra, at 34. In their presentments, colonial grand juries reported on matters of public interest and criticized public agencies or officials. BEALE, ET AL., supra, §§ 1:8, 2:1.11 Despite the apparent popularity of these acts of defiance, when the original colonies drafted their first state constitutions between 1776 and 1790, only three states guaranteed the right to a grand jury in their constitution.12 Following the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, however, eight of the thirteen original states recommended an amendment to ensure the right to a federal grand jury. In early debates over the ratifica- “Loyalist judges chastised grand juries for failing to make presentments and indictments against libelers and tea-burners and other local revolutionaries” and after the revolution state judges urged moderation in the treat- ment of Loyalists). 11 See Lerner, 1967 SUP. CT. REV. at 134 (citing grand jury charge of Virginia Judge Richard Parker (June, 1798), printed in Palladium (Frank- fort, Ky.), Oct. 23, 1798, at 2 (charging a grand jury “not [to] think of introducing politics” into a presentment and “to keep to the business of grand juries as defined by the state legislature”)); David J. Katz, Note, Grand Jury Charges Delivered by Supreme Court Justices Riding Circuit During the 1790s, 14 CARDOZO L. REV. 1045, 1055-56 (1993) (even if the grand jury did not indict anyone, it often delivered a presentment to express the grand jury members’ views about current events, opining, for example, on inadequate compensation for jury duty, urging the repeal of Excise laws which levied federal taxes on liquor distillation, the absence of a Bill of Rights from the Constitution, and the need to reduce the size of the federal judiciary). 12 DEL. CONST. art. I, § 8 (1792), reprinted in 1 THORPE, supra, at 569; N.C. CONST., Decl. of Rights, art. VIII (1776), reprinted in 5 THORPE, supra, at 2787; PA. CONST. art. IX, § 10, reprinted in 5 THORPE, supra, at 3100. Two other state constitutions, while not guaranteeing the right to a grand jury, made reference to the grand jury or to indictment. GA. CONST. art. XLV (1777), reprinted in 2 THORPE, supra, at 784; N.Y. CONST. arts. XXXIII, XXXIV (1777), reprinted in 5 THORPE, supra, at 2635. 5528 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS tion of the Constitution, before the Bill of Rights had been written, some feared that “there is no provision . . . to prevent the attorney-general from filing information against any person, whether he is indicted by the grand jury or not; in consequence of which the most innocent person in the commonwealth may be taken by virtue of a warrant issued in consequence of such information . . . .” Jon Van Dyke, The Grand Jury: Representative or Elite?, 28 HASTINGS L.J. 37, 39 (1976) (quoting Abraham Holmes of the Massachusetts legislature). Because of this fear, the Grand Jury Clause, located in the Fifth Amendment, was adopted with little debate or discussion. Id. 3. The Post-Revolutionary and Nineteenth Century Grand Jury: Screening Function As they had in colonial times, nineteenth century grand juries occasionally asserted their independence by refusing to indict under unpopular laws, even when the grand jury was instructed to indict if the facts satisfied the law. Prominently, grand juries in Kentucky and Mississippi refused to indict former Vice President Aaron Burr, although he was finally indicted in Virginia; refused to indict Americans who aided French privateers in violation of the Neutrality Proclamation of 1793; and resisted indicting those accused of violating the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts. Throughout the nineteenth century, courts continued to recognize the necessity of secrecy in grand jury proceedings. See United States v. Providence Tribune Co., 241 F. 524, 526 (D.R.I. 1917) (holding a newspaper in contempt for publishing a grand jury proceeding and noting that secrecy is essential to the proceedings of a grand jury). This secrecy allowed grand juries to independently determine whether to indict, despite a judge’s instruc- tions. In many post-revolution cases, judges instructed the jurors to enforce federal laws, even if the jury thought the laws unjust or unconstitutional. Justice Chase instructed a PhiladelUNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5529 phia grand jury that until a law is repealed, even if it is unconstitutional, every citizen has a duty to “submit to it.” Katz, 14 CARDOZO L. REV. at 1058 (citing Grand Jury Charge (C.C.D. Pa. Apr. 12, 1800) (Chase, J.)), in 3 THE DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, 1789-90: THE JUSTICES ON CIRCUIT: 1790-1794, at 408, 413 (Maeva Marcus ed., 1990) [hereinafter 3 DHSC]. Similarly, Chief Justice Jay explained that a grand juror, just like a judge, must apply the law of the land even if it is a subject of heated public debate as the duty to enforce the law must override “individual scruples and misgivings.” Lerner, 1967 SUP. CT. REV. at 147 (citing 3 JOHNSTON, CORRESPONDENCE AND PUBLIC PAPERS OF JOHN JAY 485 (1891)). Duty to submit to the laws was a common theme among grand jury charges contemporaneous with the adoption of the Bill of Rights.13 13 Unidentified Grand Jury Charge No. 4 (Paterson, J.), in 3 DHSC at 462-64 (closing a grand jury charge with the instruction to “be obedient to the laws; let us fear God, respect our government, and honor the constituted authorities of our country[ ]”). See Lerner, 1967 SUP. CT. REV. at 143 (noting the emphasis on duty in Chief Justice Jay’s grand jury charge delivered in Richmond on May 22, 1793) (citing 3 JOHNSTON, CORRESPONDENCE AND PUBLIC PAPERS OF JOHN JAY 478-85 (1891)); Katz, 14 CARDOZO L. REV. at 1056-57 (citing Grand Jury Charge (C.C.D.N.Y. Apr. 12, 1790)) (Jay, J.), in 2 THE DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, 1789-90: THE JUSTICES ON CIRCUIT: 1790-1794, at 25, 30 (Maeva Marcus ed., 1988) [hereinafter 2 DHSC] (Justice Jay noted in a charge to a New York grand jury in 1790 that “civil liberty consists not in a Right to every Man to do just what he pleases . . . . It is the Duty and the Interest therefore of all good Citizens, in their several Stations, to support the Laws and the Government which thus protect their Rights and Liberties[ ]”) and Grand Jury Charge (C.C.D.S.C. May 12, 1794) (Iredell, J.), in 2 DHSC at 25, 26 (Justice Iredell spoke of an individual’s duty “to conform his conduct to the same principles of neutrality” in a charge to a Columbia grand jury) and Grand Jury Charge (C.C.D.R.I. Nov. 7, 1794) (Cushing, J.), in 2 DHSC at 491, 492 (instructing a Providence grand jury defined liberty as the right “to do whatever just laws made by a free representative allow”) and Grand Jury Charge (C.C.D.Pa. May 4, 1795) (Paterson, J.), in 3 DHSC at 40, 42 (Justice Paterson stated in a charge to a Philadelphia grand jury that “[t]o reverence and obey the laws is the first political maxim and duty in a republican government . . . [and] civil liberty and order consist in and depend upon submission to the laws.”)). See also BEALE, ET AL., supra, § 1:4 (noting that the jury charge was used “as an opportunity to describe the virtues of the new federal government, and to stress the importance of enforcing federal laws”). 5530 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS The conflict between Federalists and Republicans over the Alien and Sedition Acts proved particularly nettlesome and may be illuminating because it follows so closely on the adoption of the Bill of Rights. “From the first, the new federal judges regarded their addresses to grand juries as excellent opportunities to deliver political orations. Though grand jury charges originated for the purpose of instructing the jurors in their duties, judges had long used them as a means of dis- seminating political propaganda.” YOUNGER, supra, at 47. Federalist judges, supporters of President John Adams and defenders of the Alien and Sedition Acts, took advantage of their right to instruct juries and “impress upon grand jurors the necessity for the strict enforcement of federal laws.” Id. at 48. In a politically charged speech before a grand inquest, Chief Justice Francis Dana of Massachusetts denounced Jefferson and the Democratic Republican Candidates for Congress as “apostles of atheism and anarchy, bloodshed and plunder.” Id. at 54. On the other hand, Republican judges, tak- ing a “slap at partisan federal judges[,]” advised juries that their proper place was “as a strong barrier between the supreme power of the government and the citizens,” rather than as an instrument of the state. Id. at 54-55 (quoting Judge Harry Innes). Nevertheless, these “partisan harangues . . . did not stampede jurymen into returning indiscriminate indictments on political grounds. Instead, jurors often reacted against the heated charges and refused to indict.” Id. at 49. The political potential in the screening function of the grand jury was also manifest during the Civil War era. Prior to the war, Southern grand juries readily indicted those involved in crimes related to abolition of the slave trade, while Northern grand juries were slow to indict those charged with violations of the fugitive slave laws. Following the Civil War, Southern grand juries frustrated enforcement of Reconstruction-era laws by refusing to indict Ku Klux Klan members and others accused of committing crimes against newly-freed blacks. “During the Reconstruction period, the grand jury served as a principal weapon of Southern whites in UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5531 their struggle against radical Republicans and Negro rights.” FRANKEL & NAFTALIS, supra, at 14; YOUNGER, supra, at 85-86, 90-93 (describing Southern juries who took “seriously the task of maintaining control over slaves and free Negroes” including warning against increasing rights for free blacks and attempting to prevent antislavery literature and orators from entering their states). See also FRANKEL & NAFTALIS, supra, at 15 (describing controversial grand jury proceedings concerning such politically volatile issues as Mormon polygamy, the conflict between big business and labor unions, and resistance to “foreign radicalism”). 4. The Modern Grand Jury By the twentieth century, dramatic confrontations between prosecutors and jurors in grand jury proceedings had become rare. Currently, grand jurors no longer perform any other function but to investigate crimes and screen indictments, and they tend to indict in the overwhelming number of cases brought by prosecutors.14 Because of this, many criticize the modern grand jury as no more than a “rubber stamp” for the prosecutor. BEALE, ET AL., supra, § 1:1.15 “Day in and day out, 14 See Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center, Federal Justice Statistics Database, at http://fjsrc.urban.org (last visited January 5, 2005) (noting that federal grand juries returned only twenty-one no-bills in 2001). At least one commentator notes that dismissals by grand juries may be underreported by prosecutors, and others comment that grand juries are serving as a more effective screen than it may seem. Simmons, 82 B.U. L. REV. at 32-34 (suggesting that dismissal rates may be underreported by prosecutors due to negligence or for fear that it could reflect poorly on the office). 15 See Stuart Taylor, Jr., End of the Grand Jury Charade, AM. LAW., June 1992, at 32. See also Peter Arenella, Reforming the Federal Grand Jury and the State Preliminary Hearing to Prevent Conviction Without Adjudication, 78 MICH. L. REV. 463, 474 (1980) (arguing that “the grand jury’s tendency to rubberstamp the prosecutor’s decisions stems far more from the limited role the Supreme Court has assigned to it and the type of evidence it receives than from any institutional incapacity”); William 5532 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS the grand jury affirms what the prosecutor calls upon it to affirm — investigating as it is led, ignoring what it is never advised to notice, failing to indict or indicting as the prosecutor ‘submits’ that it should.” FRANKEL & NAFTALIS, supra, at 22. Or, as the Supreme Court of New York so colorfully put it: “[M]any lawyers and judges have expressed skepticism concerning the power of the Grand Jury. This skepticism was best summarized by the Chief Judge of this state in 1985 when he publicly stated that a Grand Jury would indict a ‘ham sandwich.’ ” In re Grand Jury Subpoena of Stewart, 545 N.Y.S.2d 974, 977 n.1 (Sup. Ct.), aff’d as modified, 548 N.Y.S.2d 679 (App. Div. 1989).16 As the grand jury’s tendency to indict has become more pronounced, some commentators claim that the modern grand jury has lost its independence. Susan W. Brenner, The Voice of the Community: A Case for Grand Jury Independence, 3 Va. J. Soc. Pol’y & L. 67, 100 (1995) (noting that the grand jury’s nullification power allows it to insert an “influential, accurate, and legitimate community voice” into the criminal process); Gregory T. Fouts, Note, Reading the Jurors Their Rights: The Continuing Question of Grand Jury Independence, 79 IND. L.J. 323, 324 (2004) (arguing that the grand jury is “no longer an independent body, but rather an arm of J. Campbell, Eliminate the Grand Jury, 64 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 174, 174 (1973) (arguing that the grand jury should be abolished; noting that “the grand jury is the total captive of the prosecutor who, if he is candid will concede that he can indict anybody at any time, for almost anything, before any grand jury”); Melvin P. Antell, The Modern Grand Jury, Benighted Supergovernment, 51 A.B.A. J. 153, 153-54 (1965) (asserting that the grand jury is an “archaic . . . instrument[ ]” that does little to safeguard defendants). 16 It is very difficult to determine whether the grand jury’s screening function has been successful. The high indictment rate may reflect caution on the part of federal prosecutors to bring marginal cases before a grand jury and suffer the return of a no-bill. Leipold, 80 CORNELL L. REV. at 27378. UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5533 the prosecution”); Elizabeth G. Mckendree, Note, United States v. Williams: Antonin’s Costello: How the Grand Jury Lost the Aid of the Courts as a Check on Prosecutorial Misconduct, 37 HOW. L.J. 49, 58, 80-82 (1993) (claiming that the “contemporary grand jury falls far short of its historic ideal” and arguing that the judiciary is the branch that should protect the grand jury’s independence). Against this criticism, the Supreme Court has steadfastly insisted that the grand jury remains as a shield against unfounded prosecutions. See Williams, 504 U.S. at 47 (the Grand jury “serv[es] as a kind of buffer or referee between the Government and the people”); Mandujano, 425 U.S. at 571 (plurality opinion) (“the grand jury continues to function as a barrier to reckless or unfounded charges”); Wood, 370 U.S. at 390 (describing the grand jury as a “primary security to the innocent against hasty, malicious and oppressive persecution” as it stands “between the accuser and the accused . . . to determine whether a charge is founded upon reason or . . . dictated by an intimidating power by malice and personal ill will[ ]”); Stirone v. United States, 361 U.S. 212, 218 (1960); Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43, 61 (1906). See also Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 686-87 (1972) (recognizing the dual function of the grand jury “of determining if there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and of protecting citizens against unfounded criminal prosecutions.”). But see Dionisio, 410 U.S. at 17 (“The grand jury may not always serve its historic role as a protective bulwark standing solidly between the ordinary citizen and an overzealous prosecutor . . . .”). 5. The Model Charge The first model grand jury charge was issued in 1978 by the Judicial Conference of the United States.17 Model Grand 17 No uniform federal handbook or model instructions for grand juries existed until the 1970s. In 1974, the Judicial Conference Committee on the 5534 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS Jury Charge, Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States 77 (September 21, 1978). The original model charge is very similar to the one used by federal judges today, and includes all of the phrases challenged by Appellants as unconstitutional. Model Charge to Grand Juries, Report of the Committee on the Operation of the Jury System 3, 5, 15 (September 1978). In 1986, the Judicial Conference revised and shortened the model grand jury charge. Model Grand Jury Charge, Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States 33 (March 12, 1986). This is the most recent revision of the model charge and contains the phrases to which Appellants have objected here. Id. at A-4, A-6, A-12.18 At least nine states have addressed issues similar to those Operation of the Jury System published a Handbook for Federal Grand Jurors at the direction of the Judicial Conference of the United States. UNITED STATES JUDICIAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ON THE OPERATION OF THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM, HANDBOOK FOR FEDERAL GRAND JURORS (1974). This handbook was designed to explain the general nature of the duties of grand juries and of “the institution on which they will serve.” Id. at 4. It was not designed to replace the instructions given by federal judges but only to supplement them. Id. In 1977, the Judicial Conference and the Congressional Committee on the Administration of the Criminal law agreed that there should be a model grand jury charge promulgated. Grand Jury Reform, Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States 84 (September 15, 1977). See also Model Charge to Grand Juries, Report of the Committee on the Operation of the Jury System 20 (March 1978). 18 There is another model grand jury charge in circulation that has not been approved by the Judicial Conference. It is located in the Benchbook for U.S. District Court Judges. It claims to be “substantially the same in form” as the one approved by the Judicial Conference in 1986, but it does not contain any of the three phrases challenged as unconstitutional. See FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER 1996, BENCHBOOK FOR U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGES § 7.04 204 n.1 (4th ed. 2000 rev.). Even this instruction states that “the purpose” and “task” of the grand jury is “to determine whether there is sufficient evidence . . . to determine if there is ‘probable cause’ to believe the person committed a crime.” Id. at 205. It is unclear what percentage of district courts use this model charge as opposed to the one issued by the Judicial Conference in 1986. UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5535 before us and have arrived at different conclusions. The majority of the states have adopted instructions similar to the federal model instructions. Florida’s instructions expressly instruct the grand jury that it “should vote to return a ‘true bill’ ” if it finds “ ‘probable cause’ that a crime has been committed[.]” 31 Florida Grand Jury Instructions, FLORIDA STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES § 2.6 (4th ed. 2004). Hawai‘i’s model charge instructs jurors that “[i]f the answer is “yes,” [that probable cause exists] then “you are to return . . . an indictment.” Hawai‘i Model Grand Jury Charge 11.19 Virginia’s model charge uses even stronger language in instructing that if there is probable cause that a law has been violated, it is the grand jury’s “positive and sworn duty to indict.” Regular Grand Jury Instructions, 1-1 VIRGINIA CRIMINAL BENCHBOOK FOR JUDGES AND LAWYERS 1 (2004). Similarly, Massachusetts’ model charge instructs the grand jury that if the jurors believe “sufficient evidence” is presented, “it is your duty to return . . . an indictment.” Massachusetts Grand Jury: General Instructions 2 (December 1993). Ohio’s model grand jury instructions state that indictments “shall be returned against those who are probably guilty of criminal acts.” 4 Ohio Jury Instructions § 401.04 (2003). In California, by statute, “a grand jury shall find an indictment when all the evidence before it, taken together, if unexplained or uncontradicted, would, in its judgment, warrant a conviction by a trial jury.” CAL. PENAL CODE § 939.8 (West 2005) (emphasis added). 19 Florida’s instructions also instruct the grand jury that its duty is “only” to determine whether there is probable cause. 31 Florida Grand Jury Instructions, FLORIDA STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES § 2.4 (4th ed. 2004). Hawai‘i, Massachusetts, and Minnesota’s instructions similarly refer to the “purpose” and “function” of the grand jury as a singular task. Hawai‘i Model Grand Jury Charge 1; Massachusetts Proposed Grand Jury Charge 3 (April 11, 2003); Grand Jury Charge, Fourth Judicial District Court State of Minnesota, at http://www.courts.state.mn.us/ districts/fourth/Jury/jogjchg.htm (last visited March 9, 2005). 5536 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS By contrast, in two states, New York and Minnesota, the model grand jury instructions use language stating that the grand jury “may” indict if the government proves its case rather than “should” indict. See, e.g., New York State Office of Court Administration, Criminal Jury Instructions New York (2d ed. rev. June 10, 2002), at http://www.nycourts.gov/ cji/1-General/CJI2d.Grand-Jury.Revised.pdf (last visited March 9, 2005); Grand Jury Charge, Fourth Judicial District Court State of Minnesota, at http://www.courts.state.mn.us/ districts/fourth/Jury/jogjchg.htm (citing MINN. R. CRIM. P. 18.06, subd. 2). But see BEALE, ET AL., supra, § 9.10 (discussing differences between New York and the U.S. procedures).20 The Minnesota instruction goes further to instruct the grand jury that it “is not obliged to return an indictment, even though you find there is probable cause, if you do not feel there is a reasonable prospect of a conviction.” Grand Jury Charge, Fourth Judicial District Court State of Minnesota, at http://www.courts.state.mn.us/districts/fourth/Jury/ jogjchg.htm. In addition, Arkansas’ model charge broadly instructs the grand jury that it is to “inquire into all public offenses committed in this county and to indict such persons whom you think guilty.” 1 ARKANSAS’ CIRCUIT JUDGES’ BENCH- BOOK FOR CRIMINAL AND CIVIL DIVISIONS app. 58 (rev. Oct. 2, 2003). Finally, we note that a number of courts have considered whether petit juries should be informed of their nullification power. The courts have uniformly rejected the idea. See United States v. Powell, 955 F.2d 1206, 1213 (9th Cir. 1992) (determining that a district court did not err in refusing to provide a jury nullification instruction); United States v. Trujillo, 20 On the other hand, the only state court (New York) we are aware of that has confronted the issue of grand jury nullification refused to decide whether the grand jury has the power to nullify the law. People v. Jose C., 487 N.Y.S.2d 499, 502 (Sup. Ct. 1985) (“Neither is this court deciding whether our grand juries possess or lack the power ‘to nullify the law by refusing to indict notwithstanding the presentation to it of evidence sufficient to sustain an indictment.’ ”) (internal citation omitted). UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS 5537 714 F.2d 102, 105-06 (11th Cir. 1983) (“While a jury does have the power to bring a verdict . . . its duty is to apply the law as interpreted and instructed by the court.”) (internal citations omitted); United States v. Dougherty, 473 F.2d 1113, 1137 (D.C. Cir. 1972) (“An explicit instruction to a jury conveys an implied approval that runs the risk of degrading the legal structure requisite for true freedom, for an ordered liberty that protects against anarchy as well as tyranny”); United States v. Boardman, 419 F.2d 110, 116 (1st Cir. 1969) (“Today jurors may have the power to ignore the law, but their duty is to apply the law as interpreted by the court, and they should be so instructed.”); United States v. Moylan, 417 F.2d 1002, 1005-09 (4th Cir. 1969); People v. Fernandez, 26 Cal. App. 4th 710, 712 (1994) (“We hold that the trial court did not have to advise the jury of its power to nullify a verdict”); People v. Partner, 180 Cal. App. 3d 178, 186 (1986) (“We agree that the jury should not be instructed on so-called jury nullification.”). We have reviewed, briefly, the history of the grand jury in an effort to understand something about its role and historic independence. The historical record is decidedly checkered; the role of the grand jury has alternatively expanded and contracted since it was instituted in the twelfth century.21 The colonial grand jury had the broadest powers as a quasilegislative, administrative and prosecutorial institution, bringing charges, screening indictments brought by prosecutors, supervising public projects, and proposing legislation. In both 21 The dissent accuses the majority of “relying principally upon British history and the use of the grand jury in England prior to King George III” to distort “a uniquely American institution.” Dissent at 5558. The grand jury is, of course, not “uniquely American.” Its independence was reinforced during the colonial period, but its core functions were defined in the English experience. Contrary to the dissent, the Supreme Court has observed that “[t]here is every reason to believe that our constitutional grand jury was intended to operate substantially like its English progenitor.” Costello, 350 U.S. at 362. We have reviewed both English and American history to understand those core functions and their origins. 5538 UNITED STATES v. NAVARRO-VARGAS pre- and post-revolutionary America, the grand jury was used by prosecutors and judges as a political tool for, alternately, indicting or refusing to indict individuals who were accused of violating unpopular or controversial laws. While we celebrate grand jury independence in defense of the First Amendment in the case of Peter Zenger and those accused of violating the Alien and Sedition Acts, and we praise grand jury resistance to the morally-obnoxious fugitive slave laws, we must acknowledge as well that grand juries have also refused to enforce lawful and wise legislation, including some of the most important legislation in American history: the Reconstruction laws implementing the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. Grand jury independence, evidently, has historically served causes both good and ill. Looking over this record, we observe that the weight of U.S. history favors instructing the grand jury to follow the law without judging its wisdom. We candidly admit, however, that the evidence is not overwhelming and the record is not uniform in this regard. We are left to consider the role of federal grand juries on the terms on which the Constitution gave us the right in the first place: by understanding the grand jury’s place in the larger structure of our tripartite system.