Philadelphia’s Indicting Grand Jury
Get to Know the Facts About Indicting Grand Jury (IGJ) in Philadelphia
Recent changes in the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure have reinstituted the Indicting Grand Jury (IGJ) Law in Philadelphia. In response to the growing number of cases involving allegations of witness intimidation, a Grand Jury Subcommittee recommended changes in order to alleviate this problem.
The IGJ is not used in all cases. This is a secretive process in which all proceedings occur without the presence of the accused, or his lawyer. There is an initial determination made by the Courts as to whether witness intimidation: (1) has occurred, (2) is occurring, or (3) is likely to occur in the future. If so, the accused will not have a preliminary hearing. Instead, the evidence against the accused will be presented to an IGJ, where all participants (i.e., the witnesses, judge and prosecutor) are sworn to secrecy.
In these cases, a defendant is not entitled to receive any discovery until after he has been indicted, and a Scheduling Conference is held. This typically takes approximately 2-3 months from the date of arrest. Partial discovery is provided at the Scheduling Conference, and complete discovery, along with IGJ testimony, is not provided until 60 days prior to trial.
Typical Indicting Grand Jury (IGJ) charges are:
Quick Facts
24/7 Customer Service
21+ Years of Trial Experience
Flexible Payment Plans
100+ Five Star Google Reviews
1,000+ Successful Cases
“All I heard was, NOT GUILTY, NOT GUILTY, NOT GUILTY, NOT GUILTY.”
Choose an Experienced and Dedicated Lawyer to Defend Your Case
Watch our Criminal Defense Overview
Video Transcript
Speaker: Andrew Gay, Jr., Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyer
“I believe that what people look for in a criminal defense lawyer is someone who’s really going to be on their side. Someone who they know is going to conduct that investigation for them. Someone who they know is going to keep in touch with them about how their case is progressing and what they’re looking at. They want to know how likely is it that they’re going to have a favorable result here.
One thing that I truly believe that I do differently from other lawyers is that I spend the time with a client to truly talk about their problem. I really do concentrate every single day on returning all calls that come into my office. I make myself accessible.
If you’re facing real serious charges, then of course you’re going to want your lawyer to explain to you what could possibly happen. I’m going to walk you through the bail process, to coming in for an interview to prepare for your preliminary hearing to handle the preliminary hearing and any subsequent hearings that happen after that right up to trial.
You need to know what to expect next. You need to know what to expect in the short run and you need to know how long the process is going to take. And you also need to know what it is that your lawyer’s going to do to prepare for your trial.
To get out of bed at 3:30 or 4 in the morning is ordinary for me and what drives me to do that is trial preparation wins every single day out of the week.
I want to hear from a client. I want to hear what happened. I want to hear their perspective on things and I want their thoughts to be incorporated into how the case is handled.
I never let up on my preparation. I don’t ever let up on my investigation and right up until the time of trial, I’m always prepared to win.”
Get a Free Consultation
Contact us today for your free and confidential consultation.
