Interesting insight into the criminal justice system

The following is not legal advice, but one citizen's best recollections of material presented to potential grand jurors.

Today I got to spend the day in the company of a team of Montgomery County prosecutors, learning how to serve on a grand jury.  I am not actually on the grand jury, but may be called as an alternate during the four month assignment. Here are a few things I've learned so far:

• Grand jurors are sworn to secrecy for life. Unlike trial (petit) jurors, who may speak out afterward but should limit themselves to things they'd be willing to swear to in court, grand jurors may never reveal what occurs while the grand jury is in session, including cases, evidence, deliberation, voting results.
• In the state of Ohio, there is no such thing as a misdemeanor quantity of cocaine, heroin, or LSD. If you knowingly possess, obtain, or use any quantity of these substances, it is a felony. Of course, there are different degrees of felony based on the quantity possessed, obtained, or used.
• You always hear the police and law programs talk about means, motive, and opportunity. None of these are elements that need to be proven for an indictment or conviction in the state of Ohio. Rather, the following elements need to be present:
  • ID. There are many ways of identifying the perpetrator of a crime. And while crime dramas seem to focus primarily on proving whodunit, this isn't the most troublesome element for prosecutors to prove.
  • Venue. The crime must have occurred in the county in which it is being prosecuted. One exception is that a homicide for which the victim's body is found in a county is treated as if that county was the venue for the crime.
  • Date. This doesn't have to be the specific calendar date, as for some types of crimes that is problematic to narrow down. Nonetheless, it can become particularly important for the proper application of statutes that have changed either before or after the crime is alleged to have occurred, as well as to provide the defense the opportunity to refute the charges. One time acts that happen at a specific, known time and place are not as problematic for this as things like patterns of child abuse and ongoing corporate crime. And, of course, there are statute of limitations implications, as well.
  • Statute. Basically, if an item isn't on the law books in Ohio, it isn't a crime, no matter how heinous it might be. And there may be different statutory degrees applied to the same basic offense, depending on the circumstances of that particular crime and how if fits into the defined statutes that may have been violated.
  • Intent, or mental state. This is the most ignored element in law-based entertainment, and the one law enforcement and prosecutors probably have to spend the most effort on. There are four levels of intent, and though some crimes are independent of the level of intent, others hinge directly on it. A crime can be committed:
    • Purposely
    • Knowingly
    • Recklessly
    • Negligently
    The severity of the crime with which a suspect can be charged and for which he or she may be convicted often depends on their level of intent. There can be other circumstances in which intent becomes less of a factor; for instance, abuse of a child doesn't require proof of intent, and the killing of someone in conjunction with another higher-order felony negates the need to prove intent to murder (except for a capital conviction).
  While motive is not an element that must be proven, it is possible for motive to play a role in determining intent.

I wish I were available to serve on the grand jury, and half hope that I get called in as a sub for a while.