Why the Grand Jury in Ferguson Will Take Weeks
It's been almost two weeks since unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.
While there are many conflicting reports of what occurred between the African-American teenager and the white officer, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch recently said his office won't be done presenting evidence to a grand jury in the city until mid-October.
"We're not going to rush it through, and we're not going to leave anything out," McCulloch told CNN affiliate KMOV.
"They will have absolutely everything that there is, every piece of paper, every photograph, every bit of physical evidence, all the forensic information."
According to the Missouri state attorney general's office, this grand jury will be looking at two things.
Was a crime committed? And is there probable cause that Darren Wilson committed the crime?
On "New Day" Thursday, CNN's Chris Cuomo, speaking with the NAACP's Josh Gaskin, explained a fact many people may not know.
The grand jury is only meeting once a week.
SEE WHY IN THE VIDEO ABOVE
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This is not true. Grand jury proceedings are not held to hear both sides of the story. That is the purpose of a trial. Grand jury proceedings are held to determine whether there is evidence sufficient to find probable cause to formally charge the defendant. That evidence is not affected by the defense's point of view. It is 100% the State's case and evidence that is put forth, and only that evidence. As a practicing criminal defense attorney, I've never seen a grand jury where the State puts forth the other side. They almost always call one summarizing witness, an officer, and he puts forth the case for why charges should be brought forth. In fact, it is because the defense nor the defendant is allowed into the proceeding to present their case that grand juries almost always return an indictment. If the grand jury in this matter does not return an indictment, it is only because the prosecutor did not want them to. Anyone who knows anything about the practice of law would affirm this as true.