Ham and cheese

The grand jury – and old British tradition seamlessly carried over into the United States – is perhaps one of this country’s leave potent checks on the criminal justice system. Such juries, through a close relationship with their corresponding prosecutors and a generally one-sided nature to the proceedings in their hearing rooms, are generally regarded as mere rubber stamps in the judicial process. As the old saying goes, a good prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.

So when word comes out that a grand jury has actually declined an indictment, one must take pause and wonder. Just how far removed from the realms of normalcy and reality must a prosecutor’s conspiracy theory be for such a body to kibosh charges?

Well, the Austin American-Statesman, a fairly respected Texas newspaper, is now reporting that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle actually failed to get at least one grand jury to hand down charges against then-House Majority Leader Tom Delay.

When word of the eventual political conspiracy indictments against the Republic congressional leader did come down (thanks to a less-stringent grand jury, it now seems), many instantly rushed to assumptions of guilt. And, in the interest of honesty, Mr. Delay sure does seem to be battling and up-hill effort. But with so few details as-yet released to the public, it would seem apt to pause and question just how many dots are missing from this equation such that Mr. Earle couldn’t even get Mr. Delay the same treatment as a ham sandwich.