The veil of silence as to what really happened during the grand jury hearing for Officer Darren Wilson may soon be lifted, as one of the grand jury members is suing St. Louis Prosecutor Bob McCullough with the help of the ACLU. Under law, the prosecutor can speak out, but grand jurors are sworn to secrecy. According to “Grand Juror Doe”:
“In [the grand juror]’s view, the current information available about the grand jurors’ views is not entirely accurate — especially the implication that all grand jurors believed that there was no support for any charges,” the lawsuit says. “Moreover … the investigation of Wilson had a stronger focus on the victim than in other cases presented to the grand jury,” the lawsuit states. Doe also believes the legal standards were conveyed in a “muddled” and “untimely” manner to the grand jury. … In this specific case, “any interests furthered by maintaining grand jury secrecy are outweighed by the interests secured by the First Amendment,” the lawsuit says, adding that allowing the juror to speak would contribute to a discussion on race in America.
Wouldn’t it be nice to hear a little more about those false witness testimonies and erroneous instructions on the law?
Team Blackness also discussed #BlackLivesMatter interrupt brunch, a 30-year-old Princeton grad who killed his father over allegedly cutting his allowance, and upcoming plans for the new year.
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MomSense
I really do hope we get to hear from that juror.
Looking forward to listening to the broadcast tonight. My kids are paying attention when I listen and we have had some great conversations as a result. Thank you.
Mike in dc
The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward prosecutorial misconduct.
Cacti
IAAL and I sincerely doubt a judge agrees to let a grand juror spill the beans.
Still wouldn’t mind seeing them do it as an act of civil disobedience even if he says no.
Just Some Fuckhead
Like others, I’m doubtful that a system set up by white people for white people will hold the lynch party in Ferguson accountable for anything.
Just Some Fuckhead
Even so, the very existence of the lawsuit speaks volumes.
OzarkHillbilly
@Cacti: McCulloch will fight it tooth and nail.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Cacti: It’s a misdemeanor. How serious is that?
Mike in dc
Leaking the vote count would be fascinating. Was there a majority vote for any of the charges? Mcculloch made it sound like there was unanimity, which is clearly not the case, given this lawsuit.
Cacti
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Not sure what class of misdemeanor it is, so hard to say. But the broad definition of misdemeanor is an offense punishable by less than 12 months incarceration.
catclub
No. SATSQ
Phlip
I may be cynical, but what do you think the odds are the juror already has a tentative book deal in place and just wants to get paid?
Just Some Fuckhead
@Cacti: So less than half of corruption for, say, a state governor.
z
@Cacti: “IAAL and I sincerely doubt a judge agrees to let a grand juror spill the beans.”
Maybe under a special order where the court screens whatever the juror intends to say since there are some things (other jurors’ identities, details of jury deliberations, other cases) that should remain secret and some things (DA’s behavior w/r/t this case, evidence presented to the jury) that are reasonable to discuss given what’s been selectively released and maybe mischaracterized by the DA.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the ACLU is also assisting this juror in making a professional misconduct complaint against McCulloch & the other lawyers with the state bar… IANAL but I’m familiar with some similar cases and the language in this complaint seems to point that way (this case treated differently from the others; focusing on the victim rather than the potential crime; misrepresenting the law w/r/t use-of-force justification; intimidating jurors into shutting up about possible misconduct by distributing grand jury secrecy statutes at the end of the term).
The Fat Kate Middleton
Although I saw the terrible story about Thomas Gilbert Sr.’s death, had not seen or read what happened since. Unbelievable.