Grand Juror Sues St. Louis County Prosecutor Over Darren Wilson Case

A grand juror in the Darren Wilson case is suing St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch. The grand juror, whose name has not been disclosed, is filing suit so that he or she can speak publicly about the case. The 58 point suit alleges that McCulloch presented the legal case in a muddled and untimely manner, and that he put a great deal of focus on Michael Brown rather than Darren Wilson. The implications seems to be that the juror felt the prosecutor was in effect, putting Michael Brown on trial rather than the man who shot and killed him.

If successful, the suit would permit the juror to comment on the case without being subjected to criminal prosecution for speaking out. Missouri state law makes it a class A misdemeanor to disclose evidence given in grand jury trials. The suit alleges that in the circumstances of this case, the interests in securing the First Amendment should outweigh any interest served by maintaining grand jury secrecy.

Bob McCulloch’s handling of the case was deplorable in many different ways. He knowingly used perjured testimony from Sandra McElroy as an eyewitness even though he publicly acknowledged that she “clearly wasn’t present” at the scene of the confrontation between Wilson and Brown.

The suit suggests that, even in the eyes of one of the grand jurors, McCulloch practiced deception to try to keep Darren Wilson from being indicted for the shooting death of Michael Brown. The lawsuit alleges that McCulloch prejudicially mismanaged the entire grand jury process to seek the outcome he desired.

Whether or not the lawsuit succeeds, McCulloch’s actions as prosecutor in this case are indefensible. Since McCulloch deliberately put a liar on the stand to further his personal agenda in the case, it seems only fitting that the courts should permit one of the jurors to exercise his or her right to publicly speak the truth.