Why are state courts not required to use grand juries?

State courts are not required to use grand juries because the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the grand jury requirement found in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution applies only to federal prosecutions, not to state-level proceedings.123

While the Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, this protection was historically understood to restrain only the federal government. Consequently, many U.S. states have either abolished the grand jury system or significantly limited its use. In these jurisdictions, prosecutors are authorized to charge individuals with serious crimes through an instrument known as an information—a written accusation prepared and presented by a prosecuting official—without the requirement of a grand jury review.4312