Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax TV that he is concerned about the potential mind-set of grand jurors weighing the fate of Darren Wilson, the white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, in a case that has convulsed the nation.
With a ruling imminent following a summer of protests, rioting and heated arguments about race, "What I have a great fear of is the grand jury may be influenced by the fear of mob reaction," trial lawyer and author Dershowitz told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner on
Newsmax TV Monday.
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"If even one single grand juror says to himself or herself, 'My God, I have two choices: I could acquit him and there'll be riots in the street — maybe my home will be affected — or I can charge him in which case, hey, I'm safe and I'm clear,' " said Dershowitz.
"You don't want that thumb to be on the scale of justice at all," said Dershowitz.
Dershowitz said that he has studied the facts surrounding the Aug. 9 shooting "very carefully" but still has "no idea whether or not the defendant is guilty or not guilty.
"The evidence should determine that," he said. "The forensics should determine that."
He said the typical grand jury is generally "in a better position" to make a fair call than even the prosecutor bringing the case "because a prosecutor — particularly elected prosecutors — are much more influenced by public opinion.
"Grand jurors are supposed to be — and may indeed be — much less subject to the pressure," he said. "Although I worry that these grand jurors may be subject to external pressures."
Beyond the courthouse in St. Louis County where deliberations have taken place, and in the streets of Ferguson, Dershowitz said that people have a right to assemble peacefully to express their views of the case — but that demanding an indictment or acquittal of Wilson is not about seeking justice.
"These folks who are calling for a trial don't want justice; they want a particular result," he said.
Unrest is growing again in Ferguson, and local authorities fear that an acquittal of Wilson could be met with
still more upheaval. Missouri's governor has pre-emptively declared a state of emergency, summoning the National Guard to back up local law enforcement.
"The line between fomenting and inciting violence, and advocating strong positions, is a difficult one," said Dershowitz. "The courts have had a great deal of difficulty defining that line."
In the meantime, he recommended "protective measures to make sure there is no violence" and allowing the case to run its legal course.
"It's very hard to find people who actually want justice, who want to see the facts and the law determine the outcome of this horrible tragedy that has engulfed this city and similar tragedies engulfing so many other cities," said Dershowitz. "We should never be rooting for an outcome; we should always be rooting for an objective assessment."
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