Ferguson Grand Jury Twitter Leak: Officials Investigate Tweet About Evidence in Darren Wilson Case
Officials are investigating a potential leak by a member of the grand jury in the trial for the Ferguson police-involved shooting.
The grand jury began hearing evidence on Aug. 20 in the case of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9, the New York Times reported.
"If a grand juror has leaked details of the proceedings, the case could continue with the current jury," Peter A. Joy, a professor at Washington University law school in St. Louis, told NYT. "If something like that is proven, then the most likely result would be that that grand juror would be removed from the grand jury," he said. "You don't need unanimity for them to make a decision for them to indict or not indict. If somebody was removed, the other 11 would continue deliberating, and then they would reach a decision."
The suspected leak became apparent from a Twitter post Wednesday.
Susan M. Nichols, @thesusannichols, posted, "I know someone sitting on the grand jury. There isn't enough at this point to warrant an arrest."
The Twitterverse responded quickly, telling her that grand jury proceedings are secret, and the account was soon deleted.
@DrLMPonte tweeted, "Grand Jury process=sacred trusted & secret. The appearance of impropriety is serious!"
And another tweet, by @CinnaAyn, said, "why the hell is someone on the grand jury speaking about case?!?! They are not allowed to share info."
Jurors are repeatedly reminded that they should not be sharing information about the case -- including with close friends and family -- and that they should not see, read or hear any news coverage, the NYT reported.
The 12 grand jurors, nine men and three women, have been given a 60-day extension until Jan. 7 to make a decision on whether or not to file an indictment against Wilson.
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