The Grand Jury Division is responsible for the preparation and presentation of all felony cases to the grand jury. The Division works closely with the district courts as each new grand jury is impaneled and provides an orientation program for each grand jury.

Collin County has two grand juries that serve six-month terms and together hear more than 3,000 cases per year. The grand jurors meet in secrecy and hear evidence regarding felony criminal offenses. The grand jurors must make a determination of probable cause that the person accused committed the offense alleged. If nine grand jurors believe that an indictment should be returned, they vote for a true bill of indictment, and at this point the criminal prosecution commences. If fewer than nine grand jurors concur in the finding of probable cause, the grand jurors return a no true bill of indictment (a “no bill”) and there is no further criminal prosecution on the matter.

The Grand Jury Division is responsible for the scheduling of cases, the summoning of witnesses to testify before the grand jury, and the questioning of witnesses before the grand jury. This division prepares the indictments for presentation to the grand jury. At the conclusion of each session, an official grand jury report is prepared by a Grand Jury Secretary to reflect the actions taken by the grand jury on that day. The Grand Jury Secretary is an employee of the DA’s office.

The Grand Jury Division is responsible for preparing the subpoenas the grand jury will issue commanding the presence of witnesses or requiring the production of documents and other material for use in grand jury investigations. The Grand Jury attorney is available to all law enforcement agencies in the investigative stage of a criminal case to provide legal assistance.

The Grand Jury Division is composed of a Chief Felony Prosecutor, a Felony Prosecutor, three Grand Jury Secretaries, and the combined resources of the District Attorney Investigative staff and Intake staff.

Doris Berry, the Chief of Intake division, completed her undergraduate education at Texas Woman’s University in Denton and received her law degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She has been employed by the Collin County District Attorney’s Office since 1972 with the exception of the three years she attended law school. She has been a chief misdemeanor and chief felony prosecutor in the trial divisions, as well as chief felony prosecutor in the Grand Jury and Family Justice Division. Ms. Berry is currently the Chief Prosecutor over the Intake Division. Her duties include the following: supervising the attorneys reviewing misdemeanor and felony cases that are filed with the office, as well as supervising the Hot Check Division and the supervising attorney over the support staff.

Doris Berry - Ext. 4333; dberry@co.collin.tx.us