how could the man and wife defend themselves at the grand jury, when they wouldn’t even be there?
quote from google “The process is not an adversarial process. The defendant is not present, and the defense attorney does not have a right to be in the room.”
I was on a Grand Jury in Alabama. On one of the cases we heard, the defendant requested to testify before the Grand Jury. The district attorney allowed him to give a statement. He didn’t have to allow that.
Grand Jurors have much more power than they realize.
They chose to be there and to defend themselves. I was on the grand jury.
Right to Testify
An accused has no right to testify at a N.J. grand jury. However, the prosecutor may extend an invitation for a defendant or target of investigation to testify. Under this circumstance, a defendant will have the “privilege” of testifying provided he waives his Miranda rights and right to counsel as defense attorneys are not permitted to be present at grand jury proceedings.
This is what happened.