[stremba]

You are correct. The standard for a grand jury is not “reasonable doubt” but rather “probable cause”. Is there probable cause that a criminal action has been committed? They are not supposed to consider the probability of a conviction at trial.

[Alberta's Child]

That's right. But in a case like this I believe the grand jury has one very important fact that influences them heavily and gives the police a huge benefit of the doubt when it comes to "probable cause."

The police didn't just come across Eric Garner loitering on a street corner and accost him for some silly reason. Nor did they even come across him and try to arrest him for an outstanding warrant of some kind. The police were called to the scene specifically to deal with him. And despite the unfortunate way this situation ended, anyone who looks at it objectively would have to admit that Garner was basically a useless oaf with a lengthy criminal history and a medical file that might be more typical of someone who was 30 years older than him.