Reading Read the text and choose the correct alternative to fill in the gaps. The Grand Jury in Operation

One unique aspect of the grand jury is secrecy. Since the grand jury may find insufficient (1) ………… to indict, it works in secret, in order to protect those merely under investigation from unfavorable publicity. By contrast, the rest of the criminal court process is required to be (2) ………... Another unique aspect is that (3) ……………. are returned by a plurality vote; in most states, one-half to two thirds of the (4) ………… are sufficient to indict. By contrast, trial juries can (5) ………….. only if the jurors are unanimous¹ (or, in four states, nearly unanimous)

The work of the grand jury is shaped by its unique relationship with the prosecutor. In the vast majority of states, grand juries are considered part of the judicial (6) ……………. of government. In theory at least, the prosecutor functions only as a legal advisor to the grand jury, but in practice, the prosecutor dominates. Grand jurors hear only the witnesses summoned by the prosecutor, and as lay persons, they (7) ……………. heavily influenced by the legal advice of the prosecutor. The government is under no obligation to disclose to the grand jury evidence that may clear the (8) ……………. .

The result is that grand juries often function as a rubber stamp for the prosecution. Some critics call it as “the prosecutor’s darling”, or a “puppet”. A study of the Harris County (Houston, Texas) grand jury revealed that the average time (9) …………… per case was only five minutes; in 80 percent of the cases, there was no discussion by jurors; and finally, the grand jury approved nearly all the prosecutor’s recommendations. (10) …………., federal grand juries returned more than 17.000 indictments in one recent year, but only sixty-eight no true bills¹. In Chicago, grand juries indicted in 100 percent of the murder (11) ………… presented. In short, grand juries generally (12) ………… whomever the prosecutor wants indicted.

1	a)	suspicions	b)	persons	c)	evidence	d)	facts
2	a)	complicated	b)	short	c)	closed	d)	public
3	a)	indictments	b)	verdicts	c)	trials	d)	cases
4	a)	jurors	b)	votes	c)	lawyers	d)	accused
5	a)	return	b)	convict	c)	sentence	d)	decide
6	a)	department	b)	part	c)	branch	d)	level
7	a)	do	b)	have	c)	are	d)	must
8	a)	defendant	b)	convict	c)	prosecutor	d)	jurors
9	a)	to spend	b)	spending	c)	spent	d)	is spent
10	a)	However	b)	Similarly	c)	Since	d)	Although
11	a)	offenders	b)	defendants	c)	cases	d)	crimes
12	a)	indict	b)	try	c)	acquit	d)	return

GRAMMAR