The Criminal Justice System in America is undoubtedly one of the most overloaded one in the whole world what with several cases being heard out every day. In this scenario, the role of the Grand Jury in making a careful assessment of a case involving a person already arraigned by the criminal court before forwarding it to the trial court cannot be understated.
If the Grand Jury can efficiently filter out the cases that do not warrant indictment from amongst the whole lot, then the trial courts’ task will be cut down. Also, the plea bargaining assumes importance in that an out-of-court settlement can be decided upon, thus saving precious time of the trial courts.
One would also argue that the Central Booking process wherein the defendant is interviewed by the Criminal Justice agency could provide ample scope for quashing the case, then and there. According to me, the initial stages of the case involving the processes mentioned above are very vital, and can direct the sequence of events to follow, which, in turn, would either burden the courts or lessen their load. One can well imagine how burdened the trial court’s will become in the event of the Grand Jury deciding to pass on all the cases to them!