[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 6, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF THE GRAND JURY REDUCTION ACT OF 1997

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                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 6, 1997

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation--the 
Grand Jury Reduction Act of 1997--to reduce the size of the Federal 
Government by reducing the size of Federal grand juries.
  In our effort to streamline the judicial process and cut wasteful 
Federal spending, we cannot afford to leave any stone unturned. A good 
place to begin is with the size of Federal grand juries. In fact, the 
Judicial Conference recommended a reduction in grand jury size as long 
ago as 1974.
  Currently, grand juries consist of at least 16 to a maximum of 23 
jurors. Indictments may be found only upon the concurrence of 12 or 
more jurors. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 
in fiscal year 1992 the average number of grand jurors sitting on a 
grand jury in session was 19.8. And some grand juries sit with only 16 
jurors, the number necessary for a quorum under present law.
  A panel of 23 is administratively unwieldy, costly, and unnecessary. 
In fiscal year 1992 total grand jury payments totalled $16,526,275--
that's $67 per day per juror. By reducing the size of Federal grand 
juries to a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 13, as proposed by the 
Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of Criminal Law 20 
years ago, we will see significant cost savings as well as a necessary 
streamlining of the judicial process.
  The Grand Jury Reduction Act is a practical, as well as a fiscal, 
reform. In a 1977 hearing on this issue, the Counsel of the 
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts testified: ``our experience is 
that it is easier to summon a smaller panel than a larger one from 
throughout the larger districts.'' Therefore, reducing the size of 
grand juries will make the grand jury process more efficient.
  The Grand Jury Reduction Act amends 18 U.S.C. 3321 to reduce the 
number of grand jurors necessary for a grand jury to be impaneled, and 
reduces the number needed to produce an indictment. Under this 
legislation, grand juries will consist of a minimum of 9 jurors, and a 
maximum of 13, with 7 required to indict. The bill does not in any way 
change the process or the standards required for grand juries--it only 
affects their size.
  The Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case 
Management will be addressing this issue at its meeting next month, and 
the full Judicial Conference is likely to take a formal position on the 
legislation this year. I remain confident that, after reviewing the 
issue, the Conference will endorse the Grand Jury Reduction Act of 
1997.
  I am pleased to have my good friend and colleague, Virgil Goode--D-
VA--join me in this effort to streamline the judicial process and 
reduce the size and cost of government. I urge each of my colleagues to 
support the Grand Jury Reduction Act.

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