NYC Grand Jury: Voting, Immunity, and Your Right to Testify

An NYC grand jury is a panel of 16 to 23 New Yorkers who sit in secret, hear evidence presented by a prosecutor without a judge in the room, and decide whether there is enough to formally charge someone with a felony. It does not decide guilt. Twelve jurors have to agree before the panel can indict, dismiss a charge, or take any other official action.¹

Who Sits on the Panel and How Votes Work

The size range comes from Criminal Procedure Law 190.05. The voting rules live in CPL 190.25: no grand jury business is valid unless at least 16 members are present, and any official action, including voting to indict, directing a lesser charge, or issuing a grand jury report, requires the concurrence of at least 12 jurors.²

Those 12 votes have to come from jurors who actually heard the evidence in the case. Someone who missed a key witness cannot walk in on voting day and cast a ballot. If you are a defendant, that detail matters. A procedural slip on this point can become the basis for a motion to dismiss the indictment later.

The court appoints a foreperson and an acting foreperson from among the jurors. The foreperson signs indictments, administers oaths to witnesses, and keeps the proceedings moving. Grand jurors are not silent spectators. They can ask questions of witnesses through the prosecutor and can request that additional witnesses or evidence be brought in.

Who’s in the Room

The single most important thing to understand about a New York grand jury is that no judge is present while evidence is being heard. The district attorney runs the proceeding. The prosecutor explains the law to the jurors, presents the evidence, calls and questions witnesses, and decides which cases to bring before the panel in the first place.³

Aside from the prosecutor and the jurors, CPL 190.25 limits who else can be inside to a short list: a stenographer recording everything verbatim, a clerk handling administrative tasks, an interpreter if a witness needs one, a guard if the witness is in custody, and the witness’s own attorney, who can advise the witness but cannot address the grand jury.² During deliberations and voting, everyone clears out except the grand jurors themselves.

What the Grand Jury Can Decide

The panel is not stuck with a yes-or-no on indictment. Under CPL 190.60, five outcomes are available:⁴

Vote a true bill of indictment, sending the felony case to the trial court.
Direct the filing of a prosecutor’s information in a local criminal court when the evidence supports only a misdemeanor.
Direct removal of the matter to family court in certain juvenile cases.
Dismiss the charge with a “no bill.”
Submit a grand jury report on misconduct or conditions in public office, without necessarily indicting anyone.

The threshold for indictment is much lower than a trial’s. Under CPL 190.65, the grand jury has to find that the evidence is legally sufficient to establish the offense, meaning competent evidence that, taken as true, would cover every element of the crime, and that this evidence provides reasonable cause to believe the person committed it.⁵ The grand jury is asking whether there is enough to justify a trial, not whether the evidence would survive one.

What a No Bill Actually Means

A dismissal is not always the end. Under CPL 190.75, the prosecutor can ask the court for permission to resubmit a dismissed charge to the same or a different grand jury. If the court allows resubmission and the second grand jury also dismisses, the charge cannot be submitted a third time.⁶

When all charges against a person are dismissed, the district attorney has to notify that person by mail within 90 days, unless the court has authorized resubmission or granted a postponement. A defendant held in jail pending grand jury action must be released, and a defendant out on bail has that bail exonerated.⁶

If You’re the Target: The Right to Testify

New York gives defendants something the federal system does not: a statutory right to appear and testify before the grand jury that is considering charges against them. Under CPL 190.50, the defendant must send written notice to the district attorney before the grand jury votes.⁷

The catch is significant. To testify, the defendant has to sign a waiver of immunity. Everything the defendant says becomes usable at trial, and the prosecutor gets to cross-examine in front of the jurors. Defense attorneys treat this as a serious strategic decision because a poor showing in the grand jury room can do more damage than the silence would have.

The district attorney is not required to notify every suspect that a grand jury is looking at them. The notification obligation kicks in only when the defendant has already been arraigned on a felony complaint in a local criminal court. In that situation, the prosecutor has to notify the defendant or the defense attorney and give a reasonable window to decide whether to appear.⁷

A defendant can also ask the grand jury to hear specific witnesses who might present favorable evidence. The request can be made orally or in writing, but the grand jury has full discretion. Nothing forces the panel to call a defense witness.

If You’re a Witness: Automatic Immunity

Anyone subpoenaed to testify needs to understand New York’s immunity rule. Under CPL 190.40, every witness who gives evidence before a grand jury automatically receives immunity from prosecution for anything the testimony covers, unless the witness has signed a waiver.⁸

This is transactional immunity, which is broader than the use immunity available in the federal system. It doesn’t just keep the prosecution from using your words against you. It bars prosecution for the entire transaction your testimony touched. The only exceptions are a signed waiver or testimony that was volunteered outside the scope of any question asked.

This is exactly why a defendant who wants to testify has to sign a waiver, and why prosecutors are careful about who they call. Once you testify without a waiver, you have effectively bought yourself a shield against prosecution for the events you described.

Secrecy and Who It Binds

Grand jury proceedings in New York are secret. CPL 190.25 forbids any juror, prosecutor, stenographer, interpreter, or other participant from revealing testimony, evidence, or any decision made during the proceedings, except in the proper discharge of official duties or under a written court order.²

Violating that secrecy is a crime. Unlawful grand jury disclosure is a class E felony under Penal Law 215.70, punishable by up to four years in prison.⁹¹⁰ One important exception: witnesses are free to talk about their own testimony. The secrecy obligation falls on the institutional participants, not on the people who come in to give evidence.

Challenging an Indictment

An indictment is not the end of the fight. After arraignment, a defendant can move to dismiss under CPL 210.20. The available grounds include legally insufficient evidence before the grand jury, defective proceedings, immunity, a time-barred prosecution, and dismissal in the interest of justice.¹¹

Defense attorneys read grand jury minutes closely. Incorrect legal instructions from the prosecutor, a failure to present obviously exculpatory evidence, and improper testimony can all support a motion to dismiss. The immunity ground is especially powerful. If a defendant testified without properly waiving immunity, the resulting indictment can be thrown out.

If You’re Summoned to Serve

Judiciary Law sets the baseline for grand jurors. You have to be a United States citizen, a resident of the county where you were summoned, at least 18 years old, and able to understand and communicate in English.¹² A felony conviction disqualifies you entirely.

There is a cooldown period after service. Jury service of ten days or fewer exempts you from being called again for six years. Longer service stretches the exemption to eight years.¹³ During qualification, the court also considers hardship claims from people who cannot serve for the required duration.

Most grand jurors in New York City serve for a term of roughly two to four weeks, depending on the borough and the caseload. Some panels wrap in two weeks; others sit longer. When a panel is in the middle of a complex investigation and its term is about to end, the court can extend under CPL 190.15 if both the grand jury and the district attorney confirm the work is unfinished. Further extensions are available.¹⁴

Jurors receive a daily allowance of $72 for each day of physical attendance. If your employer pays your regular wages, you do not receive the state allowance. If your daily wages are less than $72, you receive the difference.¹³ Employers with more than ten employees cannot withhold the first $72 of a juror’s daily wages during the first three days of service.¹⁵ After those first three days, state law does not require private employers to keep paying.

Ignoring a summons carries consequences. Under Judiciary Law 527, a person who fails to respond faces a civil penalty of up to $250. The court first sends a noncompliance notice, and if the person ignores it or admits nonappearance, the court can impose the fine and order the person to appear on a specific future date. Failing to comply with that order can lead to additional criminal and civil penalties.¹⁶

1
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.05 – Grand Jury; Definition and General Functions
2
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.25 – Grand Jury; Proceedings and Operation in General
3
New York State Unified Court System. Grand Juror’s Handbook
4
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.60 – Grand Jury; Authority of
5
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.65 – Grand Jury; Direction to File Indictment
6
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.75 – Grand Jury; Dismissal of Charge
7
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.50 – Grand Jury; Who May Call Witnesses; Defendant as Witness
8
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.40 – Grand Jury; Witnesses, Compulsion of Evidence and Immunity
9
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 215.70 – Unlawful Grand Jury Disclosure
10
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony
11
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 210.20 – Motion to Dismiss or Reduce Indictment
12
New York State Senate. New York Judiciary Law 510 – Qualifications
13
New York Courts. Judiciary Law Article 16 New York State Consolidated Laws
14
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 190.15 – Grand Jury; Duration of Term and Discharge
15
New York State Senate. New York Judiciary Law 519 – Right of Juror to Be Absent From Employment
16
New York State Senate. New York Judiciary Law 527