Grand jury convenes in Jefferson County

A grand jury convened at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning at the Jefferson County Courthouse at the request of the Idaho Attorney General’s Office.

Under state law, the proceedings are secret, but experts say the jury will likely be looking at a felony case.

“They’re trying to collect evidence to determine whether a crime has been committed, what crime has been committed,” said Jefferey Banks, an attorney at Smith & Banks in Idaho Falls.

Smith said it’s fairly rare that a grand jury is called.

Generally, only prosecutors are present, and a potential defendant may not even know they’re being investigated.

“The order empaneling the grand jury doesn’t state a specific defendant and all of that’s secret,” said Banks. “People believe that if they can present the evidence in secret initially, then people will be more straightforward.”

If the grand jury doesn’t result in an indictment, Banks said things may stay secret.

“We may never know what happened,” said Banks.

Of the 80 potential grand jurors summoned, only 16 were selected to serve.

Banks said grand juries can take as long as they want, so at this point, it’s unclear when or if to expect an indictment.