506th Judicial District Court of Texas
Grand Jury
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Grand Jury

The 506th Judicial District Court empanels Grand Juries for the January Term each year in both Grimes and Waller Counties. One Grand Jury will serve Grimes County and a separate Grand Jury will serve Waller County.

By law, a new Grand Jury will be made up of citizens of the county who will hear cases presented by the District Attorney of the respective counties. The Grand Jury role in our system of justice is a key and important one in dealing with the investigation and prosecution of criminal acts occurring in the county.

Grand Jury Procedures

Each District Court will empanel one Grand Jury per year. In both Grimes County and Waller County, the 506th District Court empanels a Grand Jury for the January Terms each year. Each Grand Jury will serve approximately six-months, although the term can be extended for good cause.

There are two methods of empaneling a Grand Jury: one is through the appointment of Grand Jury Commissioners who in turn will nominate good citizens of the County to serve; and, the other is the more impersonal method of selecting them through random means called a jury wheel. The jury wheel is certainly effective, but in my opinion the use of Grand Jury Commissioners will provide a better cross section of citizens in the county, and will also serve to insure that only good and qualified citizens are called to serve on the Grand Jury. Therefore, the Grand Jury for the 506th District Court will be empaneled using the Commission method.

When possible, elected precinct officials, such as the Justice of the Peace, County Commissioner or Constable, will be used to provide names of qualified citizens to serve on the Grand Jury Commission. A Grand Jury Commissioner, by law, must be an intelligent citizen of the county and able to read and write the English language; be qualified as a juror in the county; have no lawsuit pending in my court; and the collective Commissioners must be from diverse portions of the County.

The Grand Jury Commissioners, once selected, will be asked to assemble and nominate 5 or 6 persons each to serve on the Grand Jury for a term of 6-months. The Grand Jury will usually meet only once every three or four weeks during that term. The Grand Jury Commissioner will not serve on the Grand Jury itself, but will be requested to participate in the nomination of the entire Grand Jury with three other Grand Jury Commissioners, each selected in much the same way.

Once the Commission has nominated its panel, the County Sheriff will officially summon each person to appear for selection of the actual Grand Jury. Out of the pool of nominees, twelve active members and two alternate members will be selected to serve. They will then begin their important work under the direction of the Criminal District Attorney.

Chapter 19 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure sets out all the requirements for the organization and call of a Grand Jury.