Court: Judge hasn't agreed to release Ferguson grand jury evidence if no indictment

[brooklynite]

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS COUNTY • For months, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch has promised to seek a court order immediately releasing nearly all evidence before the grand jury in the Michael Brown shooting case if Officer Darren Wilson is not indicted.

And he has said that the judge overseeing the grand jury, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Carolyn Whittington, already has agreed to order such release if requested.

But, with the grand jury’s decision expected this week, the county court’s top administrator on Sunday said no such agreement exists. He said Whittington has not agreed that she will release evidence in the grand jury review of the Aug. 9 shooting death of the unarmed teenager by the Ferguson police officer.

In a statement Sunday, Court Administrator Paul Fox said Whittington will have to “analyze the need for maintaining secrecy of the records with the need for public disclosure of the records.”

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/court-judge-hasn-t-agreed-to-release-ferguson-grand-jury/article_d7774a87-205e-55e5-9138-7817d6bfd82c.html

[George II]

1. "Hasn't agreed"? WTF

All this speculation - why doesn't everyone in the media just wait a day or two.........for the Grand Jury's decision instead of wonder "what if", "what if not", etc.?

Here's a scoop, I heard this afternoon that the judge hasn't agreed to serve pizza at the hearing, either!

[branford]

3. No pizza, No peace! No pizza, No peace!

Of course you are correct, but patience is sadly in short supply.

[branford]

2. I would imagine that the presiding judge would release the evidence, unless

the DOJ requested it remain confidential in order to not prejudice the federal civil rights investigation or a federal grand jury.

This, of course, puts Eric Holder and the president in a very uncomfortable position. The DOJ would then be the ones secreting the evidence from the public, despite the entreaties by local authorities, and would also raise the expectations of a federal prosecution that may never come.

McCulloch is a sneaky and conniving, but very astute, bastard. Actually, those are pretty good qualities in a prosecutor.

[Yo_Mama]

4. I would be concerned about the safety of the witnesses. n/t

[Lurks Often]

5. The names of the witnesses and grand jurors can & should be redacted

or otherwise altered to protect them and I believe this can be done without impairing the integrity of the grand jury findings.

The only other information I can think that can justifiably not be released to the public would be autopsy photos, any very graphic crime scene photos and any medical records covered under HIPPA.