The grand jury process is used to charge defendants with federal (and in rare cases, state) crimes. The purpose of a grand jury proceeding is for the government to produce enough evidence to prove probable cause for the grand jury to return an indictment against a defendant.

A grand jury is a group of randomly selected jurors who appear in court for several months to hear evidence from many different cases, involving many different defendants. No judge presides over grand jury proceedings and they are not open to the public.  A defendant does not have a right to be present or have his attorney present at the grand jury proceedings.

Witnesses are subpoenaed to appear in federal court and give testimony in front of a grand jury.  The transcripts of the grand jury proceedings are kept private, except in limited circumstances, such as if a grand jury witness testifies at trial against the defendant.