Re:Chicago Police Department shuts down its arrest API
by eurleif on Friday July 10, 2020 @12:55AM
(#23788275)
>Also, since grand juries do not decide on guilt, there is no 5th amendment right to abstain from self incrimination.
IANAL, but I'm pretty sure that's not how the Fifth Amendment works. Wikipedia notes the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent is broad enough to apply even in civil proceedings, and mentions an example of it being used in grand jury testimony: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_...
Re:Chicago Police Department shuts down its arrest API
by colejohnson66 on Friday July 10, 2020 @01:17AM
(#23788383)
Correct. If you could be forced to admit guilt in a Grand Jury, that admission could be used in the actual criminal proceedings.
Re:Chicago Police Department shuts down its arrest API
by darksaints on Friday July 10, 2020 @01:58AM
(#23788592)
Looks like I was wrong about self incrimination in a grand jury, but even given that caveat, a grand jury can be useful for breaking through the blue line. For example, a prosecutor can petition to grant immunity to a key witness, and if granted immunity, can compel them to testify about things that would normally be self-incriminating, in order to reveal testimony of criminal behavior of a partner.
The best part of the idea is that cops would be forced to justify the reasonableness of their supposed reasonable use of force, and they would be held to the standard of "reasonable" that the public decides, not themselves. And it is not a trial, it is merely a screening for a trial to see if it passes the bar for criminal action.