We have previously covered Harris County’s problems with their Blood Alcohol Testing (BAT) vans. Those problems can perhaps best be summed up as: they weren’t reliable.
Now comes word from the HouChron that:
- A grand jury is apparently investigating the situation, and
- The grand jury is taking testimony without prosecutors present. As a matter of fact, they’ve actually expelled the prosecutors from the grand jury proceedings.
The DA’s office is…not pleased. As Murray Newman, a former DA, puts it: “The Grand Jurors excluding the prosecutors from the testimony is kind of the equivalent of the President being booted out of a Cabinet meeting.”
The HouChron piece is short. The Hon. Mr. Newman’s piece over at his site provides more background: he has his own spin on things, but he’s also more familiar with the background and the people involved than I am. Summarizing his position, it seems like the DA was trying to get revenge on the BATVan whistle blowers by pushing for a grand jury indictment, but it looks like the grand jury is digging into the conduct of the DA’s office instead.
This could turn interesting real quick.