Baton Rouge CCW shooting - Update V

We learn this morning from The Advocate that the shooting resulting in the death of George Temple will go forward to a Grand Jury.

Grand jurors will review evidence in the shooting death of George Temple II in two weeks to a month, Doug Moreau said Monday.

It seems reasonable to me. The Grand Jury system in Louisiana is designed as a watchdog of the system, and can be used to exonerate a person as well as to indict him. The link to the article is here.

I have known District Attorneys who would routinely take self-defense cases before the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury would then return something called a No True Bill, which meant, in effect, that they had looked at the available evidence and could find no indication of a crime. Article 444 of our Criminal Code defines the actions of a Grand Jury. While Article 386 of the Code gives the D.A. the authority to institute a prosecution regardless, in normal practice the effect of a No True Bill is to effectively end the prosecution.

The Advocate article tells us that there are still some witnesses who have talked to TV, but have not yet been interviewed by police.

One witness, who gave a statement to a television reporter, still needs to be interviewed by police, the district attorney said. The TV report did not reveal the person’s identity.

“The person has had a couple of appointments with the Sheriff’s Office but has failed to make it to the appointment,” Moreau said. “We need to see if what he says is accurate or if he just wanted to be a TV star.”

Probably just some guy talking smack in front of a camera. There is nothing like sworn testimony to separate the story from the bullshit.

Which reminds me of a story about my participation in the Grand Jury process fifteen years ago. I'll tell it later today.