Grand juror in Missouri police shooting case sues prosecutor

[mick silver]

Grand juror in Missouri police shooting case sues prosecutorhttp://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/d/0c/d0c3eb8ca18907492a4b337b5cec5193.jpeg (http://www.reuters.com/) By Carey Gillam 1 hour ago



http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/0krl_ntgqwpQvaFDIz8O1A--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2015-01-05T170237Z_1_LYNXMPEB040KG_RTROPTP_2_USA-NEW-YORK-CHOKEHOLD.JPG (http://news.yahoo.com/grand-juror-missouri-police-shooting-case-sues-prosecutor-170237196.html#) . View photo

A protester holds a sign during a march against police violence in Berkeley, California December 7, 2014. …





By Carey Gillam
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(Reuters) - A member of the grand jury that declined to indict the white Missouri police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black 18-year-old sued the prosecutor in the case on Monday, criticizing the way evidence was presented to grand jurors and seeking court permission to speak publicly about the way the case was handled.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in St. Louis against St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch by the grand juror, whose name was withheld and was referred to as "Grand Juror Doe."
The lawsuit relates to the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Brown's death and the grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson triggered months of protests over police treatment of African-Americans in the United States.
The suit argues that state laws prohibiting the grand juror from talking about the case are unconstitutional. Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Missouri, said the Brown case is an important public policy issue and the grand juror should be allowed to speak about the proceedings.
After the Nov. 24 announcement by McCulloch that the grand jury decided not to indict Wilson, and the release by McCulloch of evidence presented, some critics accused the prosecutor of unfairly skewing the process in favor of the police officer.
A spokesman said McCulloch had no comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that evidence was presented to the grand jury in a manner markedly different than in previous cases heard by the same grand jury, with the "insinuation" that Brown was the "wrongdoer" rather than Wilson.
It also claims the prosecutor's office presented applicable laws to grand jurors "in a muddled and untimely manner" unlike presentations in other cases.
The grand juror also contends that McCulloch's public statements about the decision not to indict were not "entirely accurate," including the "implication that all grand jurors believed that there was no support for any charges," the lawsuit stated.
The grand jury in the case began meeting in May for a term originally scheduled to conclude in September. But that term was extended so the jurors could take up the Brown shooting.
Lawyers for Brown's family and some witnesses say he was trying to surrender when Wilson shot him multiple times. Wilson's supporters say the officer feared for his life and fired at Brown in self-defense.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City; Editing by Will Dunham)


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[mick silver]

comment . Nobody involved in this case seems to have had much common sense. Also, it seems everyone's mind was made up the second news of this tragedy occurred. It is very much like Republicans and Democrats. Obama does or says something, and everyone knows what everyone's opinion is automatically: Republicans will oppose it and Democrats will talk about it a little later since they have a little more freedom than Republicans about what they are to think. Extremists on both sides seem to be in control of events today.Jumping up and down on cars and screaming "Burn this thing down!" is simply beyond the limits of good taste, and will only get people to be turned off by such actions. Turning your back on someone trying to get folks to sort of get along better will not get us to a "more perfect union" either. No one seems to be following the Golden Rule any more, especially now that so many "religious leaders" are into politics and economics telling the congregation that God wants to make everyone rich beyond their wildest dreams. Being an older person that likes a little fire and brimstone in my religious coffee, I wonder why it is in the Bible that a wealthy man has the chance of getting into heaven that a camel has of passing through the eye of a needle. Also, what about "blessed be the peace-makers." Yes, the NRA believes in "peace makers", but their type of peace-maker had not been in existence yet. Take care, everyone. I think/hope we will make it through this strange period of domination by ignorant extremism. Ol Hank

[SWRichmond]

We will make it through, but we will look different on the other side.

You are correct in that nearly everyone already knows what they think about an event as soon as it occurs. It is the suspension of disbelief writ grand. As for the skeptics, we believe virtually nothing that comes out of officialdom, having caught them openly lying for their own benefit too many times.

And as for the NRA, I am afraid that I still believe that human freedom is intimately linked to the possession of the means, ability and willingness to effectively kill to keep it.

[crimethink]

Perhaps Dindus shouldn't be on grand juries?