Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

here we go.

to indy and beyond!!

You have got to be kidding me. Only in liberal freaking new york!!!

In general, the grand jury makes one of three decisions:
A. The grand jury may vote to formally accuse someone of a
crime. This accusation is called an “indictment,” also
known as a “bill” which is short for “bill of indictment.”
B. The grand jury may vote to dismiss the charges, also known
as a “no-bill.”
C. The grand jury may direct the prosecutor to file an
information accusing the person of an offense less serious
than a felony.

I am thinking that if there WERE charges to be filed, the guy running the District Attorneys office would have filed them, so as to be the guy who took a superstar down.  This way he passes the buck and lets someone else take the heat for no charges filed.  JMO

the DA is still the one who files charges if the grand jury returns with sufficiant evidence to proceed.

the DA will be the one to try any case that results.

to indy and beyond!!

Buzz, I agree, but I think he would have filed charges had he thought there were charges to file.  I am sure he would love to take Tony down.  This way, if the Grand Jury finds no reason to go to court, he has a scapegoat.

It's an election year & no real evidence exists or has existed that any criminal act was commited by anyone at that race track on the night in question. But, since it is an election year, the county attorney has to SEEM to be doing something; hence the case left to the grand jury to vote on. At the end of what was & is a much longer "legal proccess" than it should have been; I am betting the grand jury returns a "no bill" & all of this travesty goes away. Well all but the inevitable civil trial of course.

NY is a little different. In NY, all felony cases must be sent to a grand jury unless the defendant consents to a direct indictment.

http://manhattanda.org/criminal-justice-system-how-it-works?s=39

i wouldn't be surprised if the grand jury comes back with reason to file since there has already been statements given by people who claim tony tried to scare the kid.

in a grand jury a tie doesn't go to the runner, it goes to the prosecution. meaning all it takes is a "maybe he did something wrong".

all the grand jury has to think is that tony in some way possibly contributed to the death. they don't have to be sure and they don't have to have proof. it is not their job to find fault or proof, they just have to determine tony might have been culpable.

it is not up to the grand jury to render any type of verdict or any guilt, or if the case can be won.

all they have to do is think tony might have done something wrong. if they do that then it is up to the prosecution to prove it to a trial jury if the case goes to court.

to indy and beyond!!

Seems like good reason to never visit New York. Any out of state driver who goes there to race is a fool.

let me say something with a bit of a grain of salt.

some of you think the prosecution is out to find the truth. well they are out to try to prove a case if it is put before them to try. that is it.

they will pursue the case AND DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO GET A CONVICTION. that is their job.

just like a defense attorny doesn't care if the client is guilty or innoncent. their job is to defdend the client the best they can when tasked to do so.

all each side is interested in is convincing people of their side of the story.

if you don't undestand that, and that at this point in the process the prosecution has the advantage, then there isn't really much more to say.

it will be in the hands of the grand jury and all they will have to deliberate with is what the prosecution presents to them. and the prosecution will put together a story that they think will convince the grand jury that  the case needs to progress. that's it.

so i say i would not be surprised if there are some type of charges filed. could i be wrong? of course. but i have a 50-50 shot. but with a grand jury those odds get you an indictment. lol.

to indy and beyond!!

Like I said at the outset, I'm not throwing my lot in with the lynch mob or the #14 apologists until this whole thing plays out and all the evidence is made available.  Am I obligated to throw my lot in with Stewart and vehemently back him simply because I'm a racing fan?  No.  Should I, on the other hand, side with those who think this was a flagrant attempt at intimidation?  No. 

I'll remain silent and let the whole thing play out.  At some point we'll find out what that additional evidence shows and what those additional witnesses saw.  Any attempt on my part to assume one thing or the other could result in egg on my face. 

Stan Meissner

  Someone in the DA's office  pushed for a indictment after receiving the evidence from the police and that office said OK and sent it to the grand jury.

 What?

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

Putting Stewart into the same wait and see category as Adrian Peterson.  This hasn't been a good year for sports heroes. 

Stan Meissner

Wow, you need to wait and see with Peterson when he has freely admitted he hit the child and left welts and drew blood?? And he still thinks he did nothing wrong!

Spot on.  I know everyone is up in arms about what is going on--but it goes on everyday.  All the DA and the Grand Jury need is the slightest doubt that is was 100% an accident and they are going to try him. 

(just to clear it up--I don't think he will ever be convicted of anything)

Yep, Peterson and Stewart are both on my wait and see what happens list.  Seen literally thousands of yellow flag laps up close and personal from behind the camera without incident.  This one stands out as unusual and I don't know what actually happened.  Likewise Peterson's brand of discipline.  My kids are 44, 39, 37 and 29 and I have never stuffed leaves in their mouths and gave them a Saudi style caning.  The whole sports scene is making my head spin this year.  Need some down time to think it all through and sort things out.  Bad karma on the sports scene. 

Stan Meissner

As a parent you must really love the Vikings if you are not sickened by what your star player did to that boy. Wonder if your attitude would be the same if Peterson was a Packer or Bear?

As for me, these last few weeks have cured me of any desire to watch the NFL. 

I am sickened by what Peterson did.  Never said I wasn't.  It's been a while since I had to discipline my own kids.  44, 39, 37, and 29.  They're too fast for me at that age. 

I'm just saying on the Stewart deal that I don't know exactly what happened and that the investigation has more video and other information than I'll ever know about.  In cases like that I'm not going to throw my lot in defending something or someone sight unseen simply because I like racing.  Likewise with Peterson, in spite of what we've seen and heard he still has his defenders.  I prefer to sit back and let all these situations play out.

Brought some non-race-fan friends out to camp with us at the Sprint Car races a couple weeks ago.  The first thing they brought up was the Tony Stewart deal.  During one of the Heats a driver had problems and dove into the infield and drove past a couple of us photographers.  He had eye contact with us the entire time so we held our spot as he sailed by.  The knees always shake a little when that happens but he was in control and visibility was good so no big deal, happens pretty often.  Our non-race-fan friends freaked out and got up and left because as they told us later in the campground "you almost got run over dude!"   That's probably the biggest impact I'm seeing so far from this deal, it's hard to recruit new fans because that's all the know about Sprint Car racing is that video clip.

Stan Meissner