One of the first things that you had better learn as a Senior Resident Superior Court Judge in North Carolina is that the grand jury is a very special animal. A grand jury is the point in any criminal proceeding where the rights of a citizen are most vulnerable and yet at the same time most protected. 

Though the grand jury process may vary somewhat from state to state, all the states in our nation who derive their judicial processes from the English Common Law (the sole exception being Louisiana, which has evolved from the French Napoleonic Code) will have the same common core. In essence, it is the grand jury’s province to hear the evidence in the best light for the prosecution and then to determine if there is “probable cause” sufficient to indict an individual for a specific crime.

Probable cause is the minimum standard of proof that exists in our legal system, and it is a threshold that is not very difficult to meet, particularly when the group can, by law, consider only the evidence in the best light for the prosecution. The votes for an indictment are determined by a “Super Majority,” which will allow for only minimal dissent. In fact, in some instances if some jurors are absent, the vote could perhaps be required to be unanimous.  

Because of all the nuances of the grand jury process, secrecy is sacrosanct and must be upheld in many instances under the threat of sanctions on grand jury members by contempt of court or other criminal proceedings. If you stop to think about it, this concept of secrecy makes a lot of sense. 

First of all, if someone is being investigated for a crime, you might not want to let the cat out of the bag too early so as to give him or her a head start in escaping the jurisdiction of the court. Obviously, as it applies to former President Trump, this particular reason does not seem to be as critical as it might be in other cases. 

However, there is a second reason that secrecy must be held to an extremely high standard. If someone is under investigation and the evidence in the case does not meet the probable cause standard, then the risk arises that the reputation of that innocent individual might be tarnished by the mere suggestion of criminal impropriety. 

In other words, it is not in the purview of our criminal justice system to try any individual in the media arena but rather in the courtroom where the evidence is subject both to a truth filter as well as to cross examination and confrontation from the purported defendant.

Aside from this hopefully being a useful lesson on American Jurisprudence, these issues have come to the forefront because of the antics of Emily Kohrs, foreperson of the special Fulton County grand jury impaneled to investigate allegations of election meddling in 2020 by former President Trump and possibly others. 

To say the least, her actions and search for notoriety have verged on being bizarre. 

Whether she is acting out by way of some narcissistic motive or a more nefarious one, she single handedly is making a mockery of her role as foreperson of this grand jury process and is virtually assuring that any indictments handed down by this body will ultimately prove fruitless in leading to a conviction of Mr. Trump or anyone else involved in the alleged scheme. 

If by some chance all of this gets by a trial judge — which I sincerely doubt — it will never make it through the appellate courts. Perhaps what it will do is to keep the matter out in the public domain long enough to further cement the two camps of thought as they apply to Mr. Trump. 

Or, in other words, her actions will lend themselves to furthering the violent tear through the heart of our nation and the fragmentation of the unity that once could be found around our national institutions, particularly that of the concept of justice.

Those of us who truly seek to be Christ followers understand that there is a court of much higher jurisdiction than any that can be found in our nation or anywhere else in this world. 

Further, we know from the writings of John and in the letter of Hebrews that Satan himself is consistently and constantly seeking to prosecute every one of us before the judgement seat of God. You might say that it is a heavenly grand jury. While that tribunal is certainly hidden from our eyes, it is no less real than the grand jury considering the actions of Mr. Trump. 

Those same New Testament books tell us that those of us who have entered into a personal relationship with Christ have an advocate interceding on our behalf. Our advocate is none other than our great High Priest and risen Lord, Jesus Christ, who also stands in the presence of God and is saving us to the uttermost through the sacrifice He made on Calvary and the power of His resurrection. 

I’m not sure which attorneys are representing Mr. Trump in his earthly court trials. But I am quite satisfied with my advocate in that great eternal jurisdiction. 

While we at Southern Evangelical Seminary are deeply concerned about the eternal standing of every man, woman and child in America before the court of heaven, we are also troubled by the erosion of the very fabric of our nation. 

Regardless of whether you are a democrat or republican, liberal, or conservative, you should be too. For if these pillars of fairness and equality are removed from the structure of our nation, the ceiling will crumble. In fact, it may already be doing so at this moment.