NMC: Government responds to Judge DeLaughter’s motion alleging grand jury impropriety
One of Judge DeLaughter’s motions implies that the case against Judge DeLaughter is so thin that there must have been problems with the grand jury (such as bad instructions about the law) to obtain the indictment. Additionally, Judge DeLaughter suggests that press report show that there was a breach of grand jury secrecy. From there, Judge DeLaughter argues that he should get a look inside the grand jury process.
The Government’s response to this motion mostly argues that DeLaughter’s motion lacks any real substantive suggestion of impropriety in the handling of the grand jury, and that therefore there hasn’t been the kind of showing required for DeLaughter or the court to look inside the grand jury process.
The response notes that the grand jury that indicted Judge DeLaughter was not convened until last summer.
Recall that last year in January, Jerry Mitchell reported that Judge DeLaughter was about to appear before the grand jury. The Government’s response states: “Defendant Bobby DeLaughter was never a witness before the federal grand jury, and his comments [to the paper last January] are not grand jury material.”
Clarion-Ledger 4/10/9
Magnolia Tribune
