Opinion ID: 3063071
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Barry’s Fifth Amendment Rights

Text: We review constitutional claims de novo. United States v. Tagg, 572 F.3d 1320, 1325 (11th Cir. 2009). The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides in part: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury.” U.S. Const. amend. V. The Supreme Court has observed that the grand jury is mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but not in the body of the Constitution. It has not been textually assigned, therefore, to any of the branches described in the first three Articles. It is a 13 constitutional fixture in its own right. United States v. Williams, 504 U.S. 36, 47, 112 S. Ct. 1735, 1742 (1992) (quotation marks and citation omitted). “Only a defect so fundamental that it causes the grand jury no longer to be a grand jury, or the indictment no longer to be an indictment, gives rise to the constitutional right not to be tried.” Midland Asphalt Corp. v. United States, 489 U.S. 794, 802, 109 S. Ct. 1494, 1500 (1989). Furthermore, “[t]he law presumes, absent a strong showing to the contrary, that a grand jury acts within the legitimate scope of its authority.” United States v. US Infrastructure, Inc., 576 F.3d 1195, 1214 (11th Cir. 2009) (quotation marks and citation omitted). The Barrys cite nothing to support their argument that the Grand Jury was empaneled pursuant to a statute in violation of the Fifth Amendment, and they have not identified a fundamental defect that caused the grand jury no longer to be a grand jury. Midland Asphalt Corp., 489 U.S. at 802, 109 S.Ct. at 1500; see also Williams, 504 U.S. at 46, 112 S.Ct. at 1741 (recognizing the existence of a “few, clear rules which were carefully drafted and approved by this Court and by Congress to ensure the integrity of the grand jury’s functions” (quotation marks and citation omitted)). Instead, the Barrys provide only vague allegations that their Fifth Amendment rights were violated. We find no defect, much less a fundamental defect, rising to a constitutional violation. 14