Grand jurors sue to disclose evidence in case against Supreme Court justice
Six indicted Supreme Court justice, but DA dismissed the charges
08:03 AM CST on Friday, February 15, 2008

Associated Press
HOUSTON � Six members of the grand jury that indicted a Texas Supreme Court justice and his wife over a house fire have filed a lawsuit so they can speak about evidence in the case.

By law, grand jury proceedings are secret.

But the grand jury members say they want to disclose details they heard to a new grand jury. They also want to defend themselves from accusations alleging they were a "runaway grand jury," said Jeffrey Dorrell, an attorney who served as the group's assistant foreman.

"The other members of the grand jury felt that our grand jury had been abused and insulted by both the district attorney's office and the defense attorneys in the case," said Mr. Dorrell, who filed the suit.

The group is not seeking money or attorney fees.

They were part of a grand jury that indicted Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina last month on a charge of tampering with a document; his wife, Francisca Medina, was indicted on an arson charge.

The charges are related to a June 28 fire that destroyed the Medinas' house in the Houston suburb of Spring.

Hours after the indictment, Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal dismissed the charges, citing "insufficient evidence."

Mr. Dorrell said he didn't believe the district attorney's office planned to properly investigate the case. Grand jurors had asked the prosecutor to bring them witnesses and evidence, but that never happened, Mr. Dorrell said.

"If he wouldn't do the investigation that we told him to do while we were authorized and empowered to issue those orders, I don't know why he would do it now," Mr. Dorrell said. "To be blunt, we don't believe him."

Assistant District Attorney Vic Wisner has said he continues to investigate so that he can have enough evidence to win a case.

"Thinking somebody did something is one thing. Proving somebody did something is another thing," he said.

Mr. Wisner said he didn't think a judge would allow the grand jurors to disclose details of evidence heard behind closed doors.

Justice Medina's attorney said the lawsuit was frivolous.

"There's no basis for it in fact or law," Terry Yates said.

The smart thing for them to do is to just start posting stuff on the internet.

You wouldn't be advising them to break the law, would you Hoover? Surely you would know that is unethical.