Opinion ID: 2615180
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Heading Rank: 2

Heading: oregon's grand jury system

Text: Following considerable debate, [10] the framers of Oregon's Constitution created a grand jury system embodied in Article VII, Section 18, of the original constitution: [11] The Legislative Assembly shall so provide that the most competent of the permanent citizens of the county shall be chosen for jurors; and out of the whole number in attendance at the court, seven shall be chosen by lot as grand jurors, five of whom must concur to find an indictment: but the Legislative Assembly may modify or abolish grand juries. In 1899, the legislature authorized as an alternative to indictment by grand jury, prosecution on information of the district attorney. Or. Laws 1899, p. 99. A 1908 constitutional amendment repealed the 1899 statute prospectively and required indictment in all cases. In 1910, Section 18 was amended by Section 5 which substantially added language to the selection process providing:    The Legislative Assembly shall so provide that the most competent of the permanent citizens of the county shall be chosen for jurors; and out of the whole number in attendance at the court, seven shall be chosen by lot as grand jurors, five of whom must concur to find an indictment. But provision may be made by law for drawing and summoning the grand jurors from the regular jury list at any time, separate from the panel of petit jurors, and for the sitting of the grand jury during vacation as well as session of the court, as the judge may direct. No person shall be charged in any circuit court with the commission of any crime or misdemeanor defined or made punishable by any of the laws of this state, except upon indictment found by a grand jury: provided, however, that any district attorney may file an amended indictment whenever an indictment has by ruling of the court been held to be defective in form. A 1927 amendment to this section permitted waiver of indictment by the accused, with power in the district attorney to then proceed by information:    No person shall be charged in any circuit court with the commission of any crime or misdemeanor defined or made punishable by any of the laws of this state, except upon indictment found by a grand jury; provided, however, that any district attorney may file an amended indictment whenever an indictment has, by ruling of the court, been held to be defective in form; provided further, however, that if any person appears before any judge of the circuit court and waives indictment, such person may be charged in such court with any such crime of misdemeanor on information filed by the district attorney   . A 1958 amendment repealed Section 18 of Article VII (Original) and empowered the court to empanel more than one grand jury in a county. In 1974, Article VII (Amended), Section 5, of the Oregon Constitution was repealed following a referendum vote by the people. The following section was adopted: (1) The Legislative Assembly shall provide by law for: (a) Selecting juries and the qualifications of jurors; (b) Drawing and summoning grand jurors from the regular jury list at any time, separate from the panel of petit jurors; (c) Empaneling more than one grand jury in a county; and (d) The sitting of a grand jury during vacation as well as session of the court. (2) A grand jury shall consist of seven jurors chosen by lot from the whole number of jurors in attendance at the court, five of whom must concur to find an indictment. (3) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section, a person shall be charged in a circuit court with the commission of any crime punishable as a felony only on indictment by a grand jury. (4) The district attorney may charge a person on an information filed in circuit court of a crime punishable as a felony if the person appears before the judge of the circuit court and knowingly waives indictment. (5) The district attorney may charge a person on an information filed in circuit court if, after a preliminary hearing before a magistrate, the person has been held to answer upon a showing of probable cause that a crime punishable as a felony has been committed and that the person has committed it, or if the person knowingly waives preliminary hearing. (6) An information shall be substantially in the form provided by law for an indictment. The district attorney may file an amended indictment or information whenever, by ruling of the court, an indictment or information is held to be defective in form. (7) In civil cases three-fourths of the jury may render a verdict. Or.Const. Art. VII (Amended), § 5. Pursuant to this section, the defendant was indicted. Of significance is that the 1974 amendment eliminated the constitutional requirement that the grand jurors should be selected from the most competent of the permanent citizens of the county, substituting a mandate to the legislative assembly to provide by law for selecting juries and the qualifications of jurors. ORS 10.110 (amended by Or. Laws 1955, ch. 717, § 1; Or. Laws 1957, ch. 393, § 1; and Or. Laws 1973, ch. 836, § 312) had previously substantially adopted the language from the constitution and no additional legislation [12] was required. ORS 10.110 provides: The county clerk of each county shall, at the first term of each year of the circuit court for the county, or in case of an omission or neglect so to do then at any following term, make a list of the most competent of the permanent citizens of the county by selecting names by lot from the latest voter registration lists or any other source which will furnish a fair cross section of the county wherein the court convenes, denominated a preliminary jury list. From the preliminary jury list the names of those persons known not to be qualified by law to serve as jurors shall be deleted. The remaining names shall constitute the jury list. The names of those persons deleted from the preliminary jury list shall be placed on a separate list, denominated rejected prospective jurors, and opposite each name the reason for removing the name shall be set forth. [13]