Thank you for your e-mail.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Hennepin County grand jury returned a "no bill" (no
indictment) in the case of the shooting death of Barbara Schneider.
On its Web site, Hennepin County District Court has a handbook for grand
jurors. (A grand jury is "summoned and convened" by the court.) This
handbook is a helpful primer on the grand jury process. You can read it at
http://www.co.hennepin.mn.us/courts/Jury/jogjbook.htm
To quote from this handbook:
The grand jury's function is to determine whether a crime has been
committed in Hennepin County and whether a person shall be tried for that
crime. ...
After it has received evidence against a person, the grand jury must
decide whether the evidence presented justifies an indictment, which is
the formal criminal charge returned by the grand jury. ...
If the evidence does not persuade the grand jury that there is probable
cause to believe the suspect is guilty of a crime, it must vote a 'no
bill.' ...
When a grand jury returns an indictment to the court, it does not report
specific reasons why it found probable cause. Similarly, when a grand jury
returns a no bill to the court, it does not report specific reasons why it
did not find probable cause.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
Ross Corson
Hennepin County Attorney's Office
timothy connolly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on 02/21/2001 02:42:16 PM
To: Ross Corson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: grand jury
Hello Ross:
Can you confirm for me that the grand jury has decided
to return no indictment of the officers involved in
the shooting death of Barbara Schneider?
Is there a statement the grand jury makes pursuant to
that decision that addresses any institutional failure
on the part of the Minneapolis Police force in dealing
with the mentally ill or is that not within the range
of the grand jury's deliberations? If it is not within
the purview of the grand jury to issue such a ruling,
why not?
I have sent a copy of my query to the members of Mpls.
Issues e-democracy forum as matters of police conduct
have been the subject of ongoing consideration.
Thank you in advance for your timely response.
Respectfully,
Tim Connolly
Ward 7
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