Jury-rigged: sidestepping the constitution.

• Author: Howley, Kerry
• Position: Citings - Brief Article

THE FEDERAL government has transformed grand juries into "inquisitorial bulldozers that run roughshod over the constitutional rights of citizens," warns a new study from the Cato Institute. The study argues that grand juries, once checks on prosecutorial power, have become an extension of the investigative process.

Historically, grand juries empowered citizens to combat overzealous criminal prosecution. In colonial Boston, juries regularly refused to indict citizens accused of violating the Stamp Act and other unpopular policies.

Today, law enforcement uses the grand jury system to sidestep constitutional limitations, such as bans on unreasonable seizures and compulsory self-incrimination. Suspect won't talk? Try a grand jury subpoena. No search warrant or probable cause? No problem--grand juries have nearly unlimited power to obtain private documents, as the public learned when Kenneth Starr demanded that a Washington, D.C., bookstore dig up records of Monica Lewinsky's...