"On Monday, a Santa Clara County criminal grand jury returned an indictment of one felony count each of conspiracy to trespass and vandalism against the demonstrators, who barricaded themselves inside the executive building on June 5, 2024 while demanding Stanford divest from companies seen as supporting Israel's military actions in Gaza. The net effect of securing an indictment, which supersedes identical charges filed in April, is that the prosecution moves straight to trial proceedings."
"Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker cited the logistical challenges of conducting a preliminary hearing with so many defendants, which he said would have taken weeks given that several defense attorneys had already requested extensions because of scheduling conflicts. We presented the case to the grand jury to get the case to trial as soon as possible and conserve judicial resources, Baker said Wednesday. We feel confident that the evidence is strong and that we can prove our case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt."
"Defense attorneys generally object to indictments, pointing to how grand jury panels are held in secret and only involve prosecutors' presentation of evidence, without any defense participation. Leah Gillis, attorney for defendant Maya Burke, criticized what she called the unusual severity of seeking an indictment given the nature of the charges. The students invoked their right to engage in a public preliminary hearing to test the weight of the evidence, call their witnesses and have"
A Santa Clara County grand jury indicted 11 demonstrators on one felony count each of conspiracy to trespass and vandalism for barricading themselves inside the executive building on June 5, 2024 while demanding Stanford divest from companies tied to Israel's military actions in Gaza. The indictment supersedes identical April charges and sends the prosecution directly to trial, bypassing a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors cited logistical challenges and scheduling conflicts that would have prolonged a preliminary hearing and said they are confident in proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Defense attorneys objected to secret grand jury proceedings and sought a public preliminary hearing to test evidence and call witnesses.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]