grand jury

From Middle English graunde jurie, from Anglo-Norman graund juree. Named because it typically has more jurors than the petit jury.

grand jury (plural grand juries)

1. (law) A group of citizens assembled by the government to hear evidence against an accused, and determine whether an indictment for a crime should be brought.
   • 19 December 2014, Paul M Farber in The Guardian Online, Die-ins demand that we bear witness to black people's fears that they'll be next

     Though the current wave of die-ins began after grand juries in Ferguson and New York City refused to indict the cops who used lethal force against Michael Brown and Eric Garner, they tap into a deep well of what professor Salamishah Tillet calls “civic estrangement” from a state that ignores excessive police violence against black and brown people.

2. (law) The legal process that uses such a jury

• petit jury
• jury trial