Grand Juries

Alexander Cockburn’s perspective on the function of the grand jury is backward (Column Left, Jan. 14). The accusatory federal grand jury on which I served for five months did not, as Cockburn implies, abuse apprehended criminals; conversely, we 23 jurors defended their rights.

In every case of a person suspected of committing a federal crime, such as bank robbery, that person may not be tried in court unless a grand jury, after weighing the evidence presented by a federal prosecutor, judges there is sufficient evidence to warrant an indictment. Only then must the accused stand trial, at which time he may have counsel and defend himself before a judge and/or a petit jury.

MAX FREEDLAND

Long Beach