Question

What is a panel of citizens who hear the prosecution’s case in secret hearings and decide whether the individual should be formally charged?

Answer 1

Grand jury They can also issue an indictment or an accusation of guilt against the case.

Answer 2

The panel of citizens who hear the prosecution’s case in secret hearings and decide whether the individual should be formally charged is the Grand Jury.

Step-by-step explanation:

In criminal procedural law, the grand jury is a panel of 16-23 people who decides in a closed process whether the evidence provided by the prosecutor warrants a crime charge. According to the Grand Jury, there must be sufficient probable cause.

Grand juries exist at federal level and in most states. However, they are only mandatory in around half of the states. In the other states, the public prosecutor decides on the indictment.