Posted on 09/07/2014 3:32:08 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The St. Louis County prosecutor’s office is taking an unusual approach with grand jury members who are weighing evidence against the police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown last month, experts and county officials said.
Instead of telling grand jury members what charges they believe police officer Darren Wilson should face, they are leaving it open-ended for now and involving the grand jury as co-investigators.
The prosecutor’s office is also presenting evidence to the grand jury as soon as it receives it, rather than waiting until the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI have completed their investigations. Police probes are typically completed before a case is presented to a grand jury, county officials said.
As a result, jurors in the Wilson case are hearing from every eyewitness, seeing every telling photo, viewing every relevant video and reviewing all DNA, ballistics and other test results from county and FBI labs...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I rather think that by handling the case in an irregular manner, they are angling for a mistrial. I’m anything but a jurist, but something is more than strange here.
They are laying the full weight of the case on the Grand Jury. This hopefully will prevent further riots when they come back with a no bill (silly as it sounds). I would like to see the ethnic composition of the jury.
We’re still waiting for the Zimmerman report.
>> I read this as a sign that the evidence speaks for itself.
Yes. This sounds like the way ALL grand jury matters should be handled. With FULL evidence in view ALL the time. Not merely the evidence that one side (the prosecution) wishes the jurors to see.
Common sense!
After all, the REAL job of the “people’s lawyer” is to arrive at the TRUTH, **whatever* it may be. Their job is NOT!!! to “get convictions”.
(In theory, anyway.)
The government is recognizing the power that all grand juries actually have, but are prevented from knowing about especially if they give any hint they won’t be pliant and vote the way the government wants.
Gee I wonder what side the Washington Post is on.
we do know that the 9 member grand jury was chosen this spring prior to the shooting, so I would think that is better for the officer, at least that is my hope. I read 6 white and 3 black.
Would be more interested in learning the politics of them more than their race even. Could be that the entire area is lib?
I recall some dirty shenanigans by the prosecution in the Zimmerman case. The defense ask for charges against the prosecution even after the correct verdict came down
And remember that Dershowitz (sp) was appalled at the prosecutor
IIRC, there are only two blacks on the jury? Anyone know for certain?
“MY HANDS MY AMMUNITION” would be more appropriate verbiage to be on that “poster”.
“IIRC, there are only two blacks on the jury? Anyone know for certain?”
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That’s my recollection also BunnySlippers.
The jury’s majority white. I read it about the way you do, the prosecution doesn’t want to be accused of leaving out or artificially emphasizing any aspect of the evidence. I think that wish would apply regardless of the GJ’s ultimate decision.
It was done this way because of the growing drumbeat by the Brown family lawyers, the media race hustlers and by the governor of Missouri himself demanding that the district attorney take it out of the hands of the grand jury and issue a charging document, known as an “information,” himself, which the district attorney has the legal power to do.
You may recall that Angela Corey did this very thing in the Zimmerman case, taking it away from the jury and issuing charges herself. Her charging document was a disgrace that was insufficient on its face in that it did not even claim the existence of evidence to support all the elements of the crimes charged, yet a judge rubber-stamped it in a preliminary hearing.
So here, the Missouri DA put the case to the grand jury as soon as possible, in order to preempt the calls for him to charge Wilson directly. I would have done the same thing. But because he didn’t wait for the investigation to be substantially complete, the grand jury is seeing the evidence as it dribbles in.
Has the broken eye socket ever been confirmed?
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