The following table shows the number of arrests for felony in New York County each year since 1900, the number of persons so arrested who were "held" by magistrates for the action of the grand jury, and the number of indictments "found" by that body:
| Year | Number of Arrests for Felony | Number of Persons "Held" for Action of Grand Jury | Number of Indictments Found | Population of New York County |
| 1900 | 8,588 | 4,473 | 3,674 | 2,050,600 |
| 1901 | 8,435 | 4,395 | 4,210 | 2,095,116 |
| 1902 | 9,465 | 5,020 | 3,890 | 2,139,632 |
| 1903 | 9,939 | 4,372 | 3,898 | 2,186,017 |
| 1904 | 9,238 | 3,452 | 3,950 | 2,235,060 |
| 1905 | 11,688 | 4,751 | 4,199 | 2,468,046 |
| 1906 | 11,553 | 4,169 | 4,116 | 2,553,100 |
| 1907 | 13,913 | 5,879 | 5,295 | 2,687,800 |
| Total | 119,206 | 57,241 | 52,027 | ...... |
It may be of some interest to note how this inquisitorial body is brought into being. Every year a Board of Commissioners, consisting of the Mayor, the Recorder, the Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court, and others, meet and make up a list of a thousand names from which the grand jurors for the year are to be drawn. These names are placed in a wheel and each month fifty of them are drawn out at random by the County Clerk in the presence of one of the judges of the General Sessions. From these fifty names the grand jury of the succeeding month are chosen by lot. Of course the selection of jurors must perforce be made with ostensible impartiality, for a grand jury which was amenable to political influence would render the administration of justice worse than a farce. Such a condition has not been unknown.
Not so very long ago Recorder Goff observed that certain representative gentlemen who had served on the grand jury for years were no longer drawn. In view of the significance of the political situation at that time the fact seemed peculiar and he determined to make a personal investigation. Accordingly at the next monthly drawing the Recorder inserted his own hand in the wheel and found that some of the slips were heavier and of a different texture from the others, and could easily be separated by the sense of touch. The inference was obvious. Undoubtedly the opportunity thus to elect between the sheep and the goats had been made good use of. No excuse for this astounding situation was offered, and all the slips at once were destroyed by order of the court. Later on it was explained that the manufacturer "had not been able to furnish all the slips of the same material."
As but twenty-three grand jurymen are selected each month, only two hundred and seventy-six out of the total number chosen ever actually serve. The judge appoints a foreman, usually a man of some previous experience, and the jury are sworn. The court then delivers a charge and reads or calls to their attention certain sections from the Code of Criminal Procedure. If there is any matter of public notoriety which comes within their purvue, such as crimes against the elective franchise, or insurance, banking, or other frauds, he is likely to dwell upon the necessity of paying particular attention to this variety of offence. The jury then retire to the rooms prepared for them and begin their secret deliberations.
They are now prepared to hear the evidence against all persons charged with felonies or libel, who have been held for their action by the police magistrates. The original papers in all these cases have already been copied under the direction of the district attorney and the witnesses subpœnaed to attend and give their testimony. These subpœnas are served by attachés of the prosecutor's office, commonly known as "county detectives," or, more popularly, "sleuths." It should be observed that the district attorney in fact decides what cases shall be submitted, and prepares the daily calendar of the grand jury, which as a rule does not know in advance what business it is to consider. In addition to this, the district attorney draws, usually in advance, all the indictments.
The indictment may be said to be the most important individual paper in criminal procedure, for upon its sufficiency depends the question of whether or not a defendant may be tried, or if tried and convicted, sentenced to prison. The general form of these instruments has varied little during many centuries. They are as archaic as the grand jury itself. Originally the draughter of documents was paid by the word, and the more prolix he could be the better it was for him. This fact naturally influenced the form of all legal papers. His sins are still directly visited upon us. Moreover, not the best forms, but the worst are our inheritance, for usually only the sufficiency of the worst is questioned and tested by appeal. If an indictment is not absolutely defective, it is sustained by the higher courts, and having been passed upon and not found wanting, immediately becomes a model for all future draughtsmen. It may fairly be said that the more faulty an indictment is (so long as it be not actually void) the better its chance of immortality.
Probably the simplest indictment which the grand jury can find is one for larceny. Let us suppose that a servant, Maria Holohan, has stolen the teapot of her master, the Hon. Silas Appleboy. The grand jury present an indictment against her in the following terms:
Court of General Sessions of the Peace in and for the County of New York. The People of the State of New York against Maria Holohan.
The People of the State of New York, by this indictment, accuse Maria Holohan of the crime of grand larceny in the second degree committed as follows: The said Maria Holohan, late of the Borough of Manhattan of the City of New York, in the County of New York, aforesaid, on the 1st day of April, in the year of our Lord, One thousand, nine hundred and seven, at the Borough and County aforesaid, one teapot of the value of $50, of the goods, chattels and personal property of one Silas Appleboy, then and there being found, then and there feloniously did steal, take and carry away, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided and against the peace of the People of the State of New York and their dignity.
A. BIRD,
District Attorney.