Here's a very interesting article by a former federal prosecutor which takes the position that McCulloch's most likely reason for taking the Michael Brown case to a grand jury is for the purpose of foot dragging and avoiding the responsibility of making a prosecutorial decision.
Does a grand jury mean justice for Michael Brown — or is it a delaying tactic?
The article noted that "the prosecutor expects his office will need numerous sessions to provide jurors with findings from the Aug. 9 death of Mr. Brown and will try to have the panel start meeting several times a week."
Alex Little, a former federal prosecutor who spent six years trying violent crimes, including homicides, has criticized that strategy, and said that this news raises concerns about the local prosecutor's commitment to pursuing the case.
Quoting Little:
"Prosecutors have the responsibility to make tough decisions about cases. Here, the District Attorney should review the evidence, consult with investigators, and decide whether he believes there is probable cause to charge Wilson with a crime.
"Once he has made that decision, he can — and should — take steps to implement it, either by securing Wilson's arrest or announcing that no charges will be filed.
"The idea that the District Attorney has to wait for the grand jury to spend weeks combing through the evidence is flat wrong, and if his office is promoting that explanation for its delay in acting, then it's being deliberately misleading."
"So when a District Attorney says, in effect, 'we'll present the evidence and let the grand jury decide,"'that's malarkey. If he takes that approach, then he's already decided to abdicate his role in the process as an advocate for justice. At that point, there's no longer a prosecutor in the room guiding the grand jurors, and — more importantly — no state official acting on behalf of the victim, Michael Brown.
"Then, when you add to the mix that minorities are notoriously underrepresented on grand juries, you have the potential for nullification — of a grand jury declining to bring charges even when there is sufficient probable cause. That's the real danger to this approach."
I find this pretty plausible. McCulloch is under a lot of heat. There is an organized effort to get the governor to remove him from the case.