By: Associated Press//August 8, 2018//
YORK, S.C. (AP) — Defense lawyers are challenging indictments issued by a grand jury that approved 904 cases in a single day.
The Herald newspaper in South Carolina reports that 27 defense attorneys joined the motion Aug. 3 to quash the indictments issued after the York County grand jury met for a single day in June.
The motion says every single case was approved, at an average time per indictment of 39 seconds.
A grand jury has up to 18 members who hear basic facts about a criminal case.
Prosecutor Kevin Brackett says they “worked very hard” during the 10 hours.
Brackett says their workload more than doubled in anticipation of changes involving the defendants’ right to a hearing to see if there’s probable cause before cases go to the grand jury.