Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Head of the CBC hopes there is evidence of a crime in Ferguson

Reminds me of the Steve Martin movie, "The Jerk".

That man is no more a negro than am I..

If he is claiming to be a negro and using that as a means to an advantage, affirmative action type stuff, he needs to have DNA testing done.

Michael Brown�s family attorney says grand jury proceeding is unfair



Lawyers for the family of Michael Brown said Sunday that the secret grand jury process deciding the fate of police officer Darren Wilson is unfair.

Benjamin Crump, lead attorney for Mr. Brown�s family, said it is the prosecutor�s job to recommend charges, not present all the evidence to a grand jury and leave the decision up to them.

�We don�t think it�s fair,� he said on ABC�s �This Week.� �Why [can�t prosecutors] come and recommend charges right now based on probable cause?�

Authorities in Missouri are preparing for the imminent release of the grand jury report into the August shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who got into a confrontation with Officer Wilson, a white police officer.

Leaks from the grand jury testimony indicate Mr. Brown struggled with the officer in the patrol car minutes after he stole items from a store.

A decision was expected to be announced on Sunday, but the grand jury will reconvene for at least one more day on Monday, with its findings expected at any time.


Protesters noticed an increased police presence in recent days, including barricades set up around the building where jurors were meeting, The Associated Press reported.

Many people are protesting peacefully, but some are already preparing for violent riots. Two members of the New Black Panther Party were arrested Friday for trying to acquire guns and explosives, including pipe bombs, to use in the protests, NBC News reported.

Some have speculated that the jury�s decision has been delayed on purpose to come out after the election and when it�s cold enough that it makes protesting more difficult. The uncertainty of when a decision would come has made residents anxious, AP reported, though local church services on Sunday stressed the need to stay calm.

President Obama urged protesters not to engage in violence when a grand jury releases its report.

�First and foremost, keep protests peaceful,� the president said Sunday on �This Week.� �This is a country that allows everybody to express their views, allows them to peacefully assemble, to protest actions that they think are unjust. But using any event as an excuse for violence is contrary to rule of law and contrary to who we are.�

Officials wondered if declaring a state of emergency in Ferguson ahead of any grand jury action could actually make the rioting worse and more violent.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani questioned why Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon had already publicly declared a state of emergency.

�I would have had a state of emergency, but I would have kept it quiet,� he said on NBC�s �Meet the Press.� �It�s hard to second guess him. He had a tremendous amount of violence.�

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks said he�s concerned that officers in Ferguson are already assuming protesters will become unruly.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/23/brown-family-attorney-says-grand-jury-proceeding-u/#!#ixzz3JyqqANeY
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Ferguson Grand Jury Unusual in Many Ways

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) � Not much is normal about the Missouri grand jury responsible for deciding whether to charge a suburban St. Louis police officer for fatally shooting Michael Brown.

Not the length of deliberations, not the manner in which it has heard evidence, not the way in which its work could be made public. Then again, the case itself is unusual.

Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, shot the black unarmed 18-year-old shortly after noon on Aug. 9 in the center of a street, after some sort of scuffle occurred between them. As Brown's body lay there for hours, an angry crowd gathered. Riots and looting occurred the next night. In the following days, police responded with tear gas and smoke canisters as some protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails.

The Associated Press spoke with a veteran prosecutor and criminal defense attorney in Missouri about the typical grand jury process � and the ways the Brown case is far from the norm.

� Extra time: At the time of Brown's shooting, a St. Louis County grand jury already had been hearing cases and was scheduled to disband Sept. 10. In one of the first indications that Brown's case would be different, a judge extended the jurors' service until January, the maximum amount of time allowed.

Whereas a typical case might be presented to a grand jury in a single day, this case has stretched over three months.

� No specific charge: It's fairly common in Missouri for a prosecutor to first file a complaint charging an individual with a crime, then go later to a grand jury asking it to indict the person for that offense. In this case, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch hasn't publicly suggested any particular charge against Wilson.

� Numerous witnesses: Often, a grand jury hears testimony from just one or a few people, such as police investigators who summarize physical evidence and statements they've gathered from witnesses. In this case, McCulloch has said "all witnesses with any relevant evidence" were being summoned to testify.

� Types of witnesses: Typically, a prosecutor presents only witnesses who would aid his quest for an indictment. The target of the inquiry does not typically testify. But Wilson testified to the grand jury considering charges against him. Grand jurors also heard from a forensic expert hired by Brown's family � unusual because such testimony typically comes only from government sources.

� Record keeping: There often is no record of exactly what's said in Missouri grand juries. That's because only the jurors, witness and prosecutor are in the room. In this case, however, McCulloch's office has said the proceedings are being recorded and transcribed.

� Secrets made public: What's said in a grand jury typically remains secret under Missouri law, though when an indictment is issued, the evidence can be aired at a trial. If Wilson is not indicted, McCulloch says he will ask a judge for permission to publicly release the grand jury evidence as soon as possible.

For better or worse

Opinion is divided about whether the unusual aspects of this grand jury will inspire trust or skepticism.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd, a past president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, believes the differences are beneficial.

"At the end of the day, whether Officer Wilson is indicted or not, it's important that the public have confidence that the system worked as it should," Zahnd said. "For that reason, the grand jury going above and beyond the norm is very, very appropriate."

Susan McGraugh, supervisor of the Criminal Defense Clinic at the Saint Louis University School of Law, said all the exceptions to the norm appear to be heightening tensions among residents, particularly among racial minorities who believe they're treated differently by police.

The police officer is "getting a whole special grand jury process," McGraugh said. "I think it really adds to the consternation � you know, the frustration � that people are feeling."

http://www.joplinglobe.com/ferguson...ba25c98-727c-11e4-8c57-f33d1f3e8505.html

You guys are pulling light today.

You want Gerrymandering - lets look at the 12th, AKA Mel Watts Old "District"

Yep, what a badge of honor that is.

I guess innocent until proven guilty is no longer relevant.

Schools Closed

Schools in the St. Louis metropolitan area are closing their doors in anticipation of potential riots that could follow the announcement of results from a grand jury investigation in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

Controversy has swelled for months around the fatal shooting of the unarmed Brown, who was black, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. A grand jury is expected to announce soon whether Wilson will face charges for the shooting. There is widespread concern that if Wilson is cleared, it could lead to riots in the city. Gov. Jay Nixon has already announced a state of emergency in order to cope with any flare-ups.

In order to mitigate the risk of students being caught up in any disorder, the Jennings School District, which includes parts of Ferguson, has preemptively canceled class for next Monday and Tuesday.

Superintendent Tiffany Anderson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she is acting cautiously because most students in the district walk to school, and would be especially exposed to danger should any violent disorder break out (the district does not offer school bus services).

Anderson also noted that on Thursday, masked individuals had been handing out fliers to schoolchildren encouraging them to be disruptive and "think of police as pigs."

Jennings is only one of four school districts that service Ferguson, and the other three currently plan to stay open. However, that could rapidly change. According to the Dispatch, St. Louis police are encouraging those districts to close down for two days as soon as an indictment announcement is made, partly to reduce street traffic in the event of unrest.

http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/11/ferguson-schools-closing-wilson-indictment/

Both of those districts were created to meet US Justice Department requirements under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I remember people howling about them when they were proposed - my take at the time was the districts are a joke - but will backfire. They have; we have a majority of Republican Congressmen/Congresswomen now, something we never had before - those two districts concentrated much of the black voters into to US Justice mandated black concentration areas and freed the other districts of race based voters. Butterfield has long been rumored to have been adopted - I was duck hunting with a group of lawyers from Wilson on Saturday when that topic came up again; it is said his parents went to DC one weekend and had a baby back home on Monday - who knows? He sure looks white.

Just for the heck of it.

http://rightwingnews.com/media/blac...pening-fire-home-milwaukee-media-silent/

looks like closing the schools will help swell the ranks of the insurgents. Probably was the intent all along.

"conclude that a crime probably was committed, to lay out that crime, and to let a jury of twelve in Missouri decide the guilt or innocence of the police officer. �
There is no question that a crime was committed, 15 minutes prior to the thug being shot.