County attorneys have mixed views on grand jury use for police shootings

During his six years as St. Louis County attorney, Mark Rubin passed on grand jury proceedings for seven police-involved shootings in his northern Minnesota jurisdiction.

It was a tough decision, he said. But in the end, Rubin was assured that his senior staff members were best suited to review evidence and apply complex legal standards to investigations. In each case, like so many others, his office found the shootings were justified.

While he agrees with Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman's newly announced policy to do away with grand juries in police-involved shootings, other prosecutor colleagues want to reserve the right to use the secretive proceedings on a case-by-case basis. As for law enforcement authorities, at least one top Minnesota police officers' group prefers that an elected, political authority defer to grand juries for such highly scrutinized cases, such as the death of Jamar Clark.

http://www.startribune.com/county-attorneys-have-mixed-views-on-grand-jury-use-for-police-shootings/372494671/