Criminal Procedure
Houston Grand Jurors Boot Prosecutors; Judge and Appeals Court Nix Gov't Re-Entry Plea
Grand juries are often thought of as rubber stamps for prosecutors.
But a Houston grand jury has proven an exception to that perception, banning prosecutors from the courtroom while it hears testimony concerning issues with the city’s mobile alcohol-testing vehicles, the Houston Chronicle reports.
After the government’s lawyers got the boot on Tuesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s office tried without success to persuade state District Judge Susan Brown to order the foreman to let prosecutors return to the courtroom.
Brown, who who empaneled the grand jury, refused and her decision was upheld yesterday by the 14th court of appeals in Houston, the newspaper recounts.
