Professor Feeney Publishes Op-ed on Grand Jury System in Daily Journal

Professor Floyd Feeney published on op-ed in the Daily Journal on September 21, touching on numerous issues associated with the grand jury system in the United States. 

Though many are questioning the efficacy of that system in the wake of the failure of grand juries in Ferguson, Missouri and elsewhere to indict police officers following the  highly publicized killings of African American men,  Professor Feeney points out that amending the U.S. Constitution to eliminate the federal grand jury system would be extremely difficult and amending state constitutions to change state systems would be only slightly more achievable.

"One thing that seems clear is that those who want change are more likely to achieve their goals through the ballot box than through street demonstrations," Feeney writes, pointing out instances in which elected officials have influenced the way police interact with citizens and changed the ways department handle incidents of violence.

Floyd Feeney is the Homer G. and Ann Berryhill Angelo Professor of Law at the UC Davis School of Law and the winner of the Law School's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1986 and 2008.  The author of seven books and numerous articles, Feeney has received awards from the National Institute of Justice and the California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association, and is a nationally recognized scholar on election law.