Grand Jury's

There is one piece of information/misinformation going around the internets right now....the idea of a "new" grand jury or "extending" this one. I think I've found out the straight dope, right from the horses's mouth (via TalkLeft of course):

Reporters don't understand the grand jury process. Fitzgerald doesn't empanel a new grand jury to continue the investigation. He turns the case over to another grand jury already sitting in the District. There's always a grand jury sitting in D.C.

As long as Fitzgerald is "investigating", there'll be a grand jury to which he can present charges and receive indictments. That eliminates the confusion over the end of the term of this particular grand jury while Fritzgerald said he's still investigating.

The only reason for sticking with a particular grand jury is the continuity of complex information presented to a single group of people. But at this point, the investigation phase has mostly culminated. Transcripts are now available for any grand jury to consider. Again, the only key to determining if the investigation continues or not is whether Fitzgerald stays on the case.