§3331 Summoning and term

Summary

District courts in areas with more than four million people, or courts where the Attorney General or a top Justice Department official writes that a special grand jury is needed because of criminal activity, must order a special grand jury at least once every 18 months unless one is already serving. The special grand jury normally serves 18 months unless the court ends it earlier after the jury, by a majority vote, says its work is done. If the court finds the jury’s work unfinished at the end of its term, it may extend the term by six months at a time, but no extension can make the total term more than 36 months except as another part of the law allows. If a district court ends or fails to extend a special grand jury before the jury says it has finished, the jury can, by a majority vote, ask the circuit’s chief judge to continue the term. Once the jury applies, its term continues until the chief judge rules, and the same 36-month limit applies except as another part of the law allows.