tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238764490786855274.post4422054505193152262..comments2024-03-20T10:44:31.869-05:00Comments on D.A. Confidential: Guest blogger: "The Assistant"D.A. Confidentialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08445074681227492215noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238764490786855274.post-60502874299772809192010-02-10T12:50:17.137-06:002010-02-10T12:50:17.137-06:00I interned in a prosecutor's office in central...I interned in a prosecutor's office in central Illinois before coming to law school, and that county dealt with misdemeanors in front of the grand jury relatively routinely (I won't say frequently) as a way of avoiding preliminary hearings. The prosecutors as a matter of policy asked misdemeanor defendants to waive their preliminary hearings. Anyone who declined to waive had their case indicted through the grand jury instead.Peter Orlowicznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238764490786855274.post-11131436288225106142010-02-09T13:04:58.158-06:002010-02-09T13:04:58.158-06:00Yes, a misdemeanor case can be. The only time I&#...Yes, a misdemeanor case can be. The only time I've seen it happen though has been an instance of accused official misconduct. The Attorney General submitted the case to the grand jury as part of their duties as special prosecutor. I've only personally considered it in one case that both the police and my office thought was completely unfounded but the victim was very insistant about. That case was eventually resolved, but it did at least cross my mind. Both of those examples fit your categories, and I can't imagine a prosecutor wanting to bother for any other reason.<br /><br />However, with all that being said, it's a pretty exceptional misdemeanor that a grand jury hears. From what I've seen, one in a thousand or fewer. Did you ever present one?The Assistanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09105337414507303455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238764490786855274.post-56880326014048198612010-02-09T12:35:07.096-06:002010-02-09T12:35:07.096-06:00A misdemeanor case actually can be taken to the gr...A misdemeanor case actually can be taken to the grand jury. That's most likely to happen in a high profile case or where there's some other reason that the prosecutor doesn't want to take responsibility for filing charges or declining to prosecute.Kiele Linroth Pacehttp://austinjustice.pacefirm.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6238764490786855274.post-25864200812046251012010-02-09T10:21:22.051-06:002010-02-09T10:21:22.051-06:00I've already got a few ideas for the things I ...I've already got a few ideas for the things I want to post about, but if anybody has any questions please let me know!The Assistanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09105337414507303455noreply@blogger.com