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Rules of Procedure online for the general public, the following is the
text of the next rule in the series. Additional rules will be posted each day. To read
the entire collection, visit the Criminal Procedure link on the left.
Rule 12.3. Oath, instructions, duties, and powers of the grand jury.
(a) OATH. The foreman of the grand jury shall take the following oath:
"You, as foreman of the grand jury of County, do solemnly
swear (or affirm) that you will diligently inquire, and true
presentment make, of all indictable offenses given you in charge, as
well as those brought to your knowledge, committed or triable within
the county; the state's counsel, your fellows' and your own you shall
keep secret; you shall present no person from envy; hatred, or malice,
not leave any one unpresented from fear, affection, reward, or the hope
thereof, but you shall present all things truly as they come to your
knowledge, to the best of your understanding, so help you God?"
After the above oath (or affirmation) has been
administered to the foreman, the following oath (or affirmation) shall
be administered to the other grand jurors:
"The same oath (or affirmation) which your foreman has
taken, on his part, you and each of you, on your respective parts,
shall well and truly observe and keep, so help you God."
(b) INSTRUCTIONS. The judge shall instruct the grand jury
concerning its powers and duties and the grounds for disqualification
of a grand juror as set out in Rule 12.4, and shall otherwise instruct
the grand jury as the judge shall deem proper.
(c) DUTIES OF THE GRAND JURY. It shall be the duty of the grand jury to:
(1) Inquire into all indictable offenses committed or
triable within the county. If any grand juror knows, or has reason to
believe, that a public offense has been committed for which a defendant
may be indicted and tried within that county, it shall be the duty of
that grand juror to disclose the same to the other grand jurors, who
may thereupon investigate it;
(2) Inquire into any alleged misconduct or incompetency
of any public officer in the county. If upon such investigation and
diligent inquiry, the grand jury finds that the officer investigated
should be removed from office, it shall return a Bill of Impeachment as
provided by law; provided, however, if the officer who the grand jury
finds should be removed from office is a judge, the grand jury shall
forward a confidential report, signed by the foreman, concerning the
matter to the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission.
(3) Inquire into the condition of the county jail and
juvenile detention facilities, if any, in regard to their sufficiency
for the safekeeping of prisoners or juveniles, respectively, and their
sufficiency for the accommodations and health of prisoners or
juveniles, respectively; and
(4) Perform such other duties as may be required of it, which include the duties of each member of the grand jury to:
(i) Disqualify himself or herself in a particular matter for any of the reasons enumerated in Rule 12.4;
(ii) Attend each session of the grand jury unless excused by the foreman or the court; and
(iii) Keep confidential those matters revealed to the grand jury in secret, as required by law.
(d) POWERS OF THE GRAND JURY.
(1) The grand jury shall have inquisitorial powers over
all indictable offenses found to have been committed or to be triable
within the county, and shall have authority to return indictments for
all such offenses.
(2) The grand jury shall be entitled to free access, at
all proper hours, to all state, county, and municipal offices and
buildings located within the county and shall be entitled to examine,
without charge, all records and other papers of any state, county, or
municipal offices within the county in any way connected with the grand
jury's duties, unless those records and papers are otherwise privileged
from disclosure by law.
Committee Comments
Rule 12.3(a) states the oaths presently required in Alabama. Ala. Code 1975, §§ 12-16-171, 12-16-172.
Rule 12.3(b) substantially changes past practice. Ala.
Code 1975, § 12-16-202, requires the court specifically to charge such
things as the laws regulating the operation of automobiles, carrying
concealed weapons, dealing in county claims by county officers, failure
of tax assessor to administer oath to taxpayer, forming pools to
regulate quantity or price of products, combination to control
corporation with such intent, violation of election laws, laws relating
to convicts and prisoners, adulterating and selling candies, gaming,
selling liquors in violation of law, betting on any election, violating
the game and fish law, and violating the law prohibiting corporations
from contributing to campaign funds. The rule merely directs the judges
of the courts in which grand juries relative to the criminal laws
against certain offenses; to charge the grand jury as to all other
matters which may be required by law; and to instruct the grand jury
that it is their duty to indict for offenses if, in their opinion, the
evidence justifies the indictment.
Rule 12.3(c) is intended to limit some of the duties of
the grand jury imposed by statute unless for some good reason those
duties are required of them. See generally Ala. Code 1975, § 12-16-191,
on the duty of grand juries to examine county jails; § 12-16-195 on
grand juries' examining books of county superintendents of education; §
36-11-3 on duty of grand juries to investigate public officers; Hess
& Kulakowski, PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS AND TRIAL PREPARATIONS, 35
ALABAMA LAWYER 497, 506 (1974).
See Ala. Code 1975, § 12-16-192.
Rule 12.3(c)(2) is not an exclusive remedy and the grand jury can still indict.
Rule 12.3(d) restates in part present Alabama law and is
not exclusive. The function of the grand jury is to make investigations
into possible crimes committed within the grand jury's jurisdiction.
"The grand jury is an integral part of our legal system, whose function
it is to make investigations of all crimes committed within its
jurisdiction." King v. Second Nat'l Bank & Trust Co., 234 Ala. 106,
108, 173 So. 498, 499 (1937). As the Alabama Supreme Court said in
Fields, Alias v. State, 121 Ala. 16, 17, 25 So. 726, 727 (1899):
"[The grand jury] is that branch of the court, when
organized under the statute, in which all criminal prosecutions by
indictment must originate. It puts in motion the organized machinery
for the trial of persons charged with crime by presenting in open court
in the name of the State a complaint, which must be endorsed a true
bill. By this means the court acquires jurisdiction of the particular
case. The functions and powers of the grand jury as to the indictment
so returned are ended when the presentment is made and the indictment
or true bill is received by the court."
Once the grand jury is empaneled and sworn as provided by
statute, "it becomes the supreme inquisitorial body of the county, and
no preliminary act of any court or judge can limit its powers." State
v. Knighton, 21 Ala. App. 330, 331, 108 So. 85 (1926).
Partial authority for subsection (2) is found in Alabama Code 1975, § 12-16-196, which provides:
"The district attorney and the grand jury shall be
entitled to free access, at all proper hours, to the county jail, to
the office of the county treasurer and to examination, without charge,
of all records and other papers in any of the county offices, connected
in any way with their duties."
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