Indictment (in-DITE-ment): a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime A short, plain statement of the time, place & manner in which the defendant is alleged to have commit the crime Each crime a person is accused of committing is described in a separate count

Whether or not to indict an individual suspected of a crime is decided in one of two ways: Grand Jury: A group of jurors (often between 16 to 23) who evaluate the evidence of the prosecution Hears prosecution evidence ONLY No defense testimony at this time Meets in secret Accusation by an Information A process to replace a Grand Jury (to save strain on the jury system) A judge is presented with the prosecution’s evidence and the judge decides if it is good enough to justify a trial Faster, cheaper

Jury Selection: Voir Dire A preliminary examination to determine the competency of a witness or juror In order for the lawyers for both sides to decide whether someone is suitable for a jury, the lawyers must learn as much as the realistically can about the potential jurors This information gathering process is called “voir dire” (French; literally “to see, to say”) Process is done through written questionnaires and oral interviews

Rejection of potential jurors Challenge for Cause Lawyers for either side must cite specific evidence that leads them to conclude that a potential juror cannot be impartial in the case Unlimited number of these allowed for either side Peremptory Challenge Lawyers have a guess or feeling that a potential juror will not be impartial No evidence needs to be cited in these cases Each side is given a limited number of these to use, so they must be more cautious about who they reject on this basis