Transcript reveals shocking grand jury intimidation of witness

[n2doc]

By Radley Balko July 17 at 4:35 PM
Here’s an eye-opening report from the Houston Chronicle:

In a rare, disturbing glimpse into the shrouded world of the Texas grand jury system, we can read with our own eyes the beginnings of the young woman’s tortured evolution.

Appellate attorneys were so outraged by a 146-page transcript of Dockery’s testimony before the 208th Harris County grand jury on April 21, 2003, that they entered it into the public record for judges to review.

In it, grand jurors don’t just inquire. They interrogate. They intimidate. They appear to abandon their duty to serve as a check on overzealous government prosecution and instead join the team.


…

The foreman adds that if the evidence shows she’s perjuring herself “then you know the kids are going to be taken by Child Protective Services, and you’re going to the penitentiary and you won’t see your kids for a long time.”

It goes on like that. They eventually browbeat Dockery into completely changing her story. She was then arrested for perjury. She couldn’t make bail. When she was released, she became the prosecution’s star witness. Brown was convicted and sentenced to death.

According to the Chronicle’s Lisa Falkenberg, seven years later, a phone record showed up proving that Brown had called Dockery from her apartment on the morning of the murders, supporting his story — and hers, before she was pressured to change it. That important bit of exculpatory evidence was found in the garage of a Houston homicide detective. Brown is still waiting to learn if he’ll get a new trial.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/17/transcript-reveals-shocking-grand-jury-intimidation-of-witness/

[Fred Sanders]

1. And the end result is there has been no justice yet for anyone...the DOJ needs to get involved.

[geek tragedy]

2. Lemme guess, mostly white grand jury and African-American witness

and defendant?

[edhopper]

3. Texas

where they don't let the truth get in the way of a good execution.

[GeorgeGist]

4. Scalia would say let him die ...

because the constitution doesn't guarantee a fair trial.

[billhicks76]

5. Reform Grand Juries

People should have their lawyer present.

[yurbud]

6. Ever since I saw Frontline's "Case for Innocence" years ago, I've been afraid to go to Texas

They have judges there that would be too stupid, mean, and prejudiced to be competent to be jurors let alone judges.

[Dustlawyer]

7. I have lived all my life in Texas and have practice civil law for 25 years.

I have seen my share of great Judges who work and try hard facing very difficult decisions that have kept them up at night, and total pieces of ignorant crap who should have never been allowed to practice law. I have been in Courts all around the country and find that no state has a lock on good or bad Judges.
I was jury foreman on a murder case where a black man was accused of murdering his girlfriend. Race had nothing to do with this one and neither did the death penalty. Our jury was mixed race, but there was really no debate. He was guilty as Hell and even got on the stand against his attorneys advice. He ended up apologizing to her family and her 11 year old son (he was 8 at the time of the murder) stating that he did it because she was throwing him out after several years together and if he couldn't have her, no one could! He murdered that woman right in front of the little boy. I still think about it and have nightmares every once in awhile remembering that boy on the witness stand describing the murder of his mom! The black members of the jury had no problem convicting, no one could. We gave him Life in prison and he would not even be eligible for parole for 40 years! I wonder what he thinks about when he does think about her and the little boy! Sorry to digress, but it is one of the few things in my career I can talk about with specifics.
I do not believe in the Death penalty. Just seeing how many people, especially minorities are wrongfully convicted, even thought the instruction is BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT, makes me lose faith in humanity. We are too quick to generalize about groups of people, minorities being just one of many. People think of Jews a certain way, cops is a big one, but the one that chaps me is Lawyers of course. It is ok to group all Lawyers as bad, all cops as bad, when deep down we know that isn't true. Look past the stereotype and see the person behind it. Maybe they fit the type, maybe they don't, but give them a chance to declare by actions, words or deeds who they really are.

[yurbud]

9. Jesus! that sounds like an episode of Perry Mason. I didn't think that happened in real life

I'm glad to stand corrected on that.

If you've ever seen that "Case for Innocence," you'd see how someone could develop a negative impression of Texas judges.

[passiveporcupine]

11. We are too quick to generalize about groups of people, minorities

Just observing comments on the web, we are too quick to judge people and want to punish them for their perceived sins. I think authoritarian people feel better about themselves when they can make someone else look like a sinner. And way too many people in this country (and the world) are naturally authoritarian when it comes to judging others.

[Dustlawyer]

14. Some people with low self esteem try to negatively excercise power over others so as to make

themselves feel better. If they can screw over someone else, they are "better" than that person and thus not feel as inadequate as they secretly feel. There is no worse place for people like that than on a jury. I have lost cases and in interviewing the jurors afterward have heard that one or two jurors didn't want the plaintiff to recover merely because they themselves had a bad back, for instance, and they didn't sue anyone and get money. To hell with the law and the merit of the case! Now we see Tea Party types hiding during Voir Dire and not expressing their true feelings just to get on the jury and sabotage it. This happens all to frequently and has hurt the settlement value of all cases.

The bogus Tort Reform has done the same thing. The McDonald's Coffee case is a prime example where MCd's raised their temp on their coffee worldwide to get more coffee from the same amount of beans and it stays fresher longer. They settled several burn cases, but the savings was much much more until Stella Liebeck. The coffee spilled in her crotch causing her to almost die. She had her labia and clitoris removed. Jury awarded one day of coffee sales for McD's, 2 million. The Judge thought that too much for labia and clit and reduced the verdict to $900k (Judges can stop runaway jurys and throw out frivolous claims, and here they can be cruel). McD's lowered the temp on their coffee and the media made it seem like the most frivolous case in the world!

[GETPLANING]

8. The American Justice System Isn't About Truth Or Justice

It's about WINNING. Winning at all costs, even if innocent people have to die. Because God forbid that an investigator or prosecutor ever has to admit they were wrong about ANYTHING. Might tarnish their resumé or something.

[Shrike47]

12. Well, when I represented the State in post-conviction relief cases, I conceded error when I saw it.

I handled over 1,000 cases and there were some errors of sufficient magnitude to warrant setting aside a conviction. Not many, but a few. Lots of sentencing errors, due to a rapidly changing
system in my state.

[Aerows]

10. That's many things

but justice isn't one of them.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, n2doc.