How does Ohio's grand jury process work? Here's what you should know.

In Ohio, whether or not a felony charge should be filed against someone is determined through a grand jury process.

While the word jury is in the body's title, a grand jury does not function in the same way as a jury that would be seated in a trial.

Here's how Ohio's process works.

Who is on a grand jury?

In Ohio, a panel of nine people are on a grand jury. Those nine people are selected randomly through the lists of registered voters in each county.

Unlike in a criminal or civil trial, attorneys do not question the jurors beforehand about any preconceived bias or life experience.

In Franklin County, a pool of grand jurors normally serve for four month periods, however, the same nine people from that pool might not be hearing cases each week to allow for work and family obligations to be met. Grand jurors are required in Franklin County to serve at least two weeks consecutively.

What are grand jurors deciding?

Members of a grand jury are not determining whether someone is guilty or not. They are tasked with deciding if there is enough evidence to proceed with a criminal case against someone.

In a criminal trial, a person has to be convicted by a unanimous decision made by a panel of 12 people using the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

In grand jury proceedings, seven of the nine jurors must agree there is a preponderance of the evidence that charges are warranted. The preponderance standard can be described as more likely than not or 51%.

What types of evidence does a grand jury hear?

A grand jury only hears evidence presented by a prosecutor's office during a grand jury proceeding. The prosecutors presenting the case can call witnesses — who are not cross-examined during their testimony — and can make statements to the grand jurors.

In most cases, the person being accused of a crime is not permitted to testify. However, in certain situations, particularly shootings involving law enforcement, the testimony may be asked for and given.

The grand jurors are also permitted to ask questions in some instances.

In criminal trials, there are rules about what types of evidence can be presented and what cannot but in some circumstances, those rules do not apply for grand jury proceedings.

How does a grand jury make a decision?

After hearing evidence in a case, the members of the grand jury will deliberate. There is no one else present for the deliberations. Seven of the nine jurors have to determine there is enough evidence to move forward and issue an indictment.

Grand juries are tasked to decide about felony offenses, however, if there is a misdemeanor charge that may accompany a felony case that can be included on an indictment.

Are grand jury proceedings public?

No. Grand jury hearings are completely private and cannot be attended by members of the public. Witnesses are only permitted to attend when they are giving testimony.

After a grand jury proceeding has concluded, the transcript of what happened is also kept secret.

There have been cases where an attorney for a person charged may request a portion of grand jury testimony be unsealed, or made public, however, the trial judge is tasked with determining whether the request is allowed under Ohio law.

How often do grand juries meet?

In some counties, grand juries meet every day or on a weekly basis. In smaller counties where there are fewer people and potentially fewer felonies being committed, the grand jury might week a few times a month.

Special grand juries can also be brought together to hear evidence in a particular case over a longer period of time.

What does Franklin County do?

In Franklin County, the grand jury meets nearly every day to hear evidence in cases. The policy of the Franklin County prosecutor's office is to present all fatal shootings, including those involving law enforcement or a self-defense claim, to a grand jury for consideration.

Why do we use a grand jury system?

The grand jury system has been traditionally used so that the decision on filing charges is taken out of the hands of an office run by a political figure like a county prosecutor.

The process has come under scrutiny in recent years, particularly in the case of police shootings where indictments have not been issued, because of how much discretion a prosecutor has in what is presented to a grand jury and what may not be.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How does Ohio's grand jury process work? Here's what you should know.