Legal Definitions - target witness

A target witness is someone who the grand jury wants to indict or has information that the grand jury is looking for. This person is considered a "putative defendant" because there is substantial evidence linking them to a crime.

For example, if the grand jury is investigating a bank robbery and they have evidence that John was involved, they may consider him a target witness. They may want to indict him or ask him questions to get more information about the crime.

Another example could be if the grand jury is investigating a company for fraud and they have evidence that the CEO was involved. The CEO would be considered a target witness, but not necessarily every employee of the company.

Target witnesses are important because they can provide valuable information to the grand jury and help them build a case against the alleged perpetrators of a crime.