Subjects of FBI and Grand Jury Investigations
"Subjects of FBI Investigations" refers to individuals or companies that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the "FBI") thinks may or may not have committed a federal crime, but it cannot be certain without more information. Over the course of an FBI investigation, someone who the FBI initially believes may be just a witness may come to be viewed as a "subject". Likewise, someone who the FBI initially believes may be a potential "subject" may come to be viewed as just an innocent witness.
"Subjects of Grand Jury Investigations" refers to individuals or companies that a federal grand jury thinks may or may not have committed a federal crime, but it cannot be certain without more information or evidence. Typically a federal grand jury investigation begins when a federal prosecutor (such as an Assistant United States Attorney or "AUSA") presents the members of the grand jury with evidence that the United States Attorney's Office has obtained during its own investigation. Usually the federal prosecutors work with the FBI and/or some other government agency in conducting investigations, so often the evidence that the federal prosecutor provides to the grand jury contains evidence that was obtained by the FBI. A federal grand jury can also ask for additional evidence on its own. Sometimes the grand jury does this by issuing a subpoena to a person or company, requiring that person or company to either provide documents to the grand jury, come in to testify under oath before the grand jury, or both. Other times, the federal prosecutor may issue these subpoenas under the authority of the grand jury.
As with the FBI, someone who the grand jury initially believes may be just a witness may come to be viewed as a "subject", and someone who the grand jury initially believes may be a potential "subject" may come to be viewed as just an innocent witness. Based on the evidence that it obtains, if the grand jury finds that there is enough probable cause to believe that a person or company did commit a crime, the grand jury may cause an "indictment" to be issued. When the prosecutor files the grand jury's indictment in a federal court, a lawsuit against that person or company begins. That lawsuit is usually referred to as a "prosecution" or a "criminal case".
If you would like information about The Pickholz Law Offices' experience representing Subjects of FBI and Grand Jury Investigations, or those who believe that they may become Subjects of FBI and Grand Jury Investigations, please feel free to click on the "Our Cases & Results" link and the other links on the right side of this page.