Opinion ID: 1810649
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: failure to challenge indictment

Text: ¶ 48. Crawford next alleges his counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge the indictment handed down by the grand jury in either of two ways. First, he states counsel was ineffective because it failed to object that the indictment was invalid on its face. However, the invalidity of Crawford's indictment was addressed on appeal and Crawford was found not to have been prejudiced by such. Crawford, 716 So.2d at 1050-51. Therefore, in this proceeding, he will be unable to meet the prejudice prong of Strickland. See Woodward, 843 So.2d at 7. ¶ 49. In addition, Crawford states that his counsel should have challenged the indictment because one of the members of the grand jury was related to a prosecution witness. This Court has already held that absent statutory provision to the contrary, it is permissible for a member of the grand jury to be related to the victim, meaning that such relation, alone, is not grounds for disqualification. Southward v. State, 293 So.2d 343, 344 (Miss.1974). Therefore, we fail to see how it would be any less permissible for one related to a witness to serve on a grand jury. ¶ 50. In addition, in the same letter mentioned earlier, written around the time of trial, Crawford agreed with his counsel's decision not to challenge the indictment on such grounds as the prosecution would probably just go get another. Therefore, Crawford will be unable to meet the necessary showing of deficiency of counsel. See Woodward, 843 So.2d at 7.