A Texas Drama: the 'Runaway' Grand Jury
Grand jurors want to reveal evidence against a state supreme court justice.
Feb. 15, 2008— -- Members of a Texas grand jury that indicted a state Supreme Court justice filed a rare lawsuit this week asking to publicly speak about the secret evidence in the case, adding a new layer to a bizarre legal drama that has captivated Houston for more than a month.
The ongoing conflict between the handful of jurors and the elected district attorney, who has so far refused to prosecute the case against Supreme Court Justice David Medina, has all the trappings of pulp fiction: charges of political corruption; a "runaway" grand jury; and an embattled prosecutor accused of sending racist and sexist e-mails.
Six of the grand jurors now want to discuss the evidence they heard during the grand jury proceedings, which are secret, so they can defend themselves against accusations that they were a "runaway grand jury." They also want to bring the evidence they heard to a new grand jury in the hopes of convincing it to indict Medina again, according to court papers filed this week.
The district attorney's office "was not cooperating as we were attempting to investigate the case," said Jeffrey Dorrell, the assistant foreman who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the other jurors. "They obviously acted to terminate our investigation in the womb."
"This grand jury," he added, "has been subjected to more public abuse than any grand jury that I know of at least in the last 80 years."
Several criminal law experts said this appeared to be the first lawsuit filed by grand jurors against a prosecutor. "I'm not aware of anything like this ever happening," said George Dix, a University of Texas law professor who has written books about criminal procedure.
The dispute began Jan. 17, when the grand jury indicted Francisca Medina for arson for allegedly burning down the home she owned with her husband, David Medina. David Medina was indicted for allegedly tampering with evidence in the case, a felony. The Medinas have denied the charges.
Though the district attorney's office originally brought the case to the grand jury, within hours of the indictment District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said the charges would be dismissed because of insufficient evidence.
