SPRINGFIELD — For years, grand juries in Hampden Superior Court met nearly 40 hours a week to consider an unending queue of criminal cases ripe for the legal pipeline.
A critical cog in the wheels of justice, these panels of 23 area residents are tasked with deciding whether to advance defendants from district to superior court, where the most serious cases land and the penalties are higher.
While the modern criminal justice system would collapse without them, not much light is shone on grand juries because their proceedings are secret and sharply restricted. Consequently, they are not good candidates for Zoom meetings or teleconferences, the communication platforms of choice amid the coronavirus pandemic.