Should the Fifth Amendment apply to grand jury proceedings, and do Allen charges unconstitutionally influence minority jurors, and do law enforcement lay opinions violate Federal Rules of Evidence?

1. This Court has decided that the judicial system must take a “hands -off” approach to grand jury proceedings, and as a result, criminal defendants have virtually no due process protections at that stage . Virtually any misconduct at the grand jury is excused if the government is able to obtain a conviction. Should the Fifth Amendment apply to grand jury proceedings? 2. Fed. R. Evid. 701 permits non -expert witnesses to provide lay opinions (1) “rationally based on the witness’s perception,” (2) “helpful to clearly understanding the witness’s testimony or to determining a fact in issue,” and (3) “not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge within the scope of R ule 702 .” In order to avoid the expert witness disclosure requirements of Fed. R. Crim. P. 16, the government is routinely allowed to present lay opinion testimony of law enforcement officers based upon their “experience” on matters such as drug jargon and “typical” behavior of drug dealers. Does this violate Rule 701? 3. For over 125 years, courts have presented Allen charges to eliminate jury deadlock. Empirical and psychological studies over that period have shown that Allen charges improperly and unconstitutionally influence minority jurors to vote with majority jurors, usually to find the defendant guilty. Should the Court reassess the propriety of Allen charges?