The manner in which Dallas County prosecutors present cases to grand juries has been modified, according to a January 25 press release from Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot.
Creuzot is now prohibiting prosecutors from making recommendations to grand juries about whether to vote for or against indictment.
In Texas, a grand jury consists of twelve citizens who are randomly selected by a district court judge and summoned akin to the panel-selection method for civil case trials in district courts.
The selected citizens determine whether a defendant should be indicted or not.
To indict, nine of twelve votes are required.
Grand juries tend to hear felony cases. They decide whether enough evidence is present to justify probable cause to charge suspects with crimes. Until the grand jury indicts, suspects have not been formally charged.
Under the prior policy (implemented by the previous administration), prosecutors were allowed to make recommendations to grand juries about whether they should vote to indict or not to indict; however, prosecutors were not allowed to make recommendations if the defendants were police officers or any other public officials.
Creuzot’s hope in enacting this policy change is that cases will receive equal treatment. “This revised policy requires that the facts and evidence will speak for themselves no matter the type of case, and ensures consistent handling of each case presented to the grand jury by [the DA’s] office,” the release stated.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Elizabeth Frizell, who will run against Creuzot in the upcoming Democratic primary, was pleased to see a change in the policy. However, she said her stance would be for prosecutors to give their recommendation for the vote in all grand jury cases.
“Prosecutors are advocates. They should advocate for what’s right, just and fair in each case, not fail to advocate on each case,” Frizell told The DMN.
Creuzot argued that eliminating prosecutors’ ability to advocate for a vote was a fairer way to present cases and allows grand juries to decide on indictments without their influence.
“We are striving for consistency across the board,” DA John Creuzot declared. “We will provide guidance as to what the elements of the crime are and whether we think the elements are met. We will answer any questions from the grand jury regarding the presentation of the case [but it] will be up to the grand jury to exercise their discretion–which is what they are here to do–without influence from our office.”