EVANSVILLE - Faced with the difficult decision of whether to file charges against Vanderburgh County resident Ira Beumer for his fatal vehicular pursuit of men charged with robbing him, the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office turned to the centuries old legal tradition of a grand jury investigation. After hearing closed-door testimony directed by the Prosecutor's Office, the six-member panel of citizens, chosen randomly from voter registration and taxpayer roles, indicted Beumer on charges of murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery. Prosecutors say the grand jury process is a useful tool in circumstances where the evidence, and how that evidence applies to the law, is unusually complicated. "I think there is a lot of misconception out there about them," said Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann. However, as a legal tool the grand jury has come under criticism for being susceptible to the influence of prosecutors and has been the subject of calls for reform, including a failed bill in the Indiana General Assembly to abolish it. The author of that bill, Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, said he isn't giving up on his quest to put an end to grand juries in Indiana even though his bill to abolish them never made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. His resolution to study it received a 6-2 vote in committee and passed on the Senate floor but didn't make the list of summer study topics. "We haven't studied the grand jury system since 1981, and I think it's time we take a look at it," Delph said. "I want to see, do we need to take a look at the rules?" He said he plans to continue his quest and raise the issue with the Indiana Supreme Court.