“I think that following a different procedure than would normally be followed has created a lot of consternation, a lot of bad feelings,” Susan McGraugh, a supervisor of the Criminal Defense Clinic at the Saint Louis University School of Law, told NBC News on Sunday.
McCulloch, the prosecuting attorney, could have made the decision to charge Wilson himself, McGraugh said. Or he could have recused himself from the case, as some in Missouri called for, in which case a special prosecutor would have been appointed.
But McCulloch decided to present the case to a grand jury so that a decision could be reached in a “fair, full and impartial manner.” And McCulloch has not publicly recommended a specific charge against Wilson.
In another rare move, McCulloch ordered all grand jury proceedings to be recorded and said he would request for them to be made public if Wilson was not indicted, but the St. Louis County director of judicial administration said Sunday that a judge would need to review the evidence that was presented before deciding what portions would be released.
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