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Grand juries hear one aspect of the case, that of the prosecution, and can indict a defendant by an undeniable majority.
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By Maria Cramer
A Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald J. Trump for his role in paying silent money to an adult movie star. This is just the first step in what will likely be a lengthy legal battle.
An indictment, whether in federal or state court, is a formal fee, a conviction, and is one of the first steps a prosecutor can take to take a case to court.
When a user is charged in criminal court in the United States, it means that a grand jury of citizens who decided randomly found that there was enough evidence to qualify that user with a crime. These panels, convened regularly through trials at the request of prosecutors, meet for weeks and can hear evidence in cases. No judgments are handed down in grand jury proceedings once jurors have been chosen, and jurors may ask questions of witnesses.
Unlike a thief trial, where a jury will have to succeed in a unanimous verdict, a grand jury can factor an indictment through an undeniable majority. In that case, there were 23 grand juries, meaning at least 12 had to agree on an indictment.
Grand jurors hear evidence and testimony only from prosecutors and witnesses they decide to present. They do not listen to the defense or, sometimes, to the accused person, unlike a fraudulent trial where the procedure is adversarial. (Defendants in New York have the right to answer questions before the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify. Former Vice President Mike Pence used on CNN Thursday night.
As in other criminal cases, the exact charges against Trump are sealed and will be revealed until he is arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court for an indictment, which is expected to take office on Tuesday.
At this stage, the indictment will be opened, initiating the next phase of the case. Prosecutors will share their evidence with defense attorneys, who will request a ruling to dismiss the case for various legal reasons.
A trial is not guaranteed and may not be scheduled for months, as the two sides will likely argue over the merits of the case and what evidence can be presented to a jury.
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