Justice: The Ham Sandwich Analogy

As quoted in: N.Y. Daily News, 31 January 1985
Read more at http://izquotes.com/quote/311545
     The actions (or INactions) of grand juries have been under the public microscope after jurors in New York and Missouri declined to issue indictments in two incident of white cops killing black suspects.

     Montgomery attorney Julian McPhillips writes  in an Op-Ed piece today that a similar case in Alabama is that of an Alexander City man whose family he is representing. An unarmed black man shot and killed by a white police officer.


     An online "Crash Course in Federal Grand Juries" suggests jurors will almost always produce the result the prosecutor wants.

    In the Ferguson Missouri case, the officer who fired the shots was allowed to talk directly to the grand jurors for three hours, with nobody in the court to represent victim Michael Brown.

Prosecutors run the show in the grand jury setting, and just as they could indict the proverbial ham sandwich, they could also not indict Charles Manson if they so desired. 
     There is an argument that prosecutors are too close to police departments and officers to fairly present evidence in police shooting cases, but short of setting up and extra-judicial panel to handle all instances of police shootings, I'm not sure what can be done. 

This is the basis for Judge Saul Wachler's famous saying that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”  In conducting investigations, a federal grand jury can pretty much do what it wants, other than violating certain testimonial and constitutional privileges - See more at: http://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/federal-grand-jury-crash-course.html#sthash.cUmP20jl.dpuf

As a practical matter, a federal grand jury will almost always return an indictment presented to it by a prosecutor. This is the basis for Judge Saul Wachler's famous saying that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”  In conducting investigations, a federal grand jury can pretty much do what it wants, other than violating certain testimonial and constitutional privileges. - See more at: http://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/federal-grand-jury-crash-course.html#sthash.cUmP20jl.dpuf

. As a practical matter, a federal grand jury will almost always return an indictment presented to it by a prosecutor. This is the basis for Judge Saul Wachler's famous saying that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”  In conducting investigations, a federal grand jury can pretty much do what it wants, other than violating certain testimonial and constitutional privileges. - See more at: http://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/federal-grand-jury-crash-course.html#sthash.cUmP20jl.dpuf

. As a practical matter, a federal grand jury will almost always return an indictment presented to it by a prosecutor. This is the basis for Judge Saul Wachler's famous saying that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”  In conducting investigations, a federal grand jury can pretty much do what it wants, other than violating certain testimonial and constitutional privileges. - See more at: http://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/federal-grand-jury-crash-course.html#sthash.cUmP20jl.dpuf

. As a practical matter, a federal grand jury will almost always return an indictment presented to it by a prosecutor. This is the basis for Judge Saul Wachler's famous saying that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”  In conducting investigations, a federal grand jury can pretty much do what it wants, other than violating certain testimonial and constitutional privileges. - See more at: http://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/federal-grand-jury-crash-course.html#sthash.cUmP20jl.dpuf