II, Sec. 23 Foreperson of grand jury; oath to witness(es)

When a grand jury is formed, its members pick one person from the group to serve as the foreperson. This person acts as the leader of the grand jury.

The foreperson has an important job: putting witnesses under oath before they testify. Before someone shares their testimony with the grand jury, the foreperson asks them to swear or affirm that they will tell the complete truth. This is the same type of oath you might see witnesses take in a courtroom, and it means the witness is legally promising to be honest.

This oath matters because it holds witnesses accountable for what they say. If someone lies after taking this oath, they could face legal consequences for perjury.