FERGUSON, MISSOURI

You make a statement to the police. If you make a statement in court it is subject to cross examination. It is unheard of an accused to make an unchallenged statement in front of a grand jury. Our justice system is one of checks and balances where anyone that gives a statement in court is subject to a rigorous cross examination. In the grand jury proceeding there was nobody to cross examine the police officer because the prosecutors presentation of the case isn't challenged by anyone like it is in a trial. The prosecutor isn't a trier of fact and he isn't a trier of law. A trial has both a trier of fact and trier of law, but a grand jury proceeding has neither.

A grand jury is nothing more than a rubber stamp of what the prosecutor wants that is why many jurisdictions have done away with them entirely. Not to be curt, but you guys simply don't understand the difference between a trial and a grand jury proceeding. They are two very different things, and in this case the grand jury proceeding wasn't conducted in the manner that grand jury proceedings are normally conducted. When you two graduate law school and pass the bar come tell me I am wrong.

As easy as he pushed the store owner it appeared he was not scared of authority or the respect of anyone, White--Black or whatever this was not his first rodeo...We all need to forge the race card---forget all the other things and just stand firm white black you break the law your sorry ass is in trouble. It starts with respect for your parents and loved ones and that starts in a good home life with and guidance from parents. It happens way too much every time something like this happens the fault never lies at the root of the problem. We would be facing this same problem if the store owner pulled a gun and shot him inside the store for attacking him for defending his property. all this would have not happened if he would have not just obeyed the law. As far as the riots it was an excuse for white and black just to destroy and loot businesses in the town. I mean it looked like Black Friday at Walmart's (no pun intended)..Nobody has the right just to take things from a store the way the TV showed all this going down....when will America come out and say enough is enough.....Why would Eric Holder and Obama come out and say this is not over.....had it been a white person would it have gotten comments from either one of them!!!! I hardly thing so....

It seems mal has been overtaken by the smell of sour grapes. Liberals everywhere are angry that the facts were released, and they did not support the race baitors or the racists across the country.

It feels wonderful seeing them suffer the consequences of their own biases. Most of all however is the enormous smile real Americans like myself wear as we watch these people twitch and squirm and Obama & Holder look once again like total idiots as they lose another round in the game of life.

It was a good day in the land of the free.

You make it look like the person facing an indictment has no voice in the process concerning evidence presented to the grand jury, up to an including that particular person's eyewitness account. Is the target of the hearing's own testimony made before, during or after multiple investigations irrelevant and inadmissible?

You are right about this case being unusual pertaining to the manner that grand jury proceedings are normally conducted, but not in the ways you are suggesting. The prosecutor could have just said there was not enough evidence to charge the police officer with a crime, keeping secret all of the details as to why the grand jury chose not to indict the officer. Instead, he presented on live TV all of the reasons, and evidence to support the reasons why there was no indictment.

Since you have directly ignored my inquiries concerning the violence that has been directed against innocent businesses and the innocent people who worked at those businesses, I can only assume that you support that activity as being justified.

I sincerely wish those on the left and in black community would express as much outrage and concern that they have about Michael Brown's death as they should have about the fact that most black murder victims (over 90%) are murdered by other (unindicted) black people.

You pretty much summed it up. He was "Joe Bad Ass" with the shop owner and more than likely he wasn't going to take shit off of anyone including a cop with a gun. Unfortunately he has suffered the consequences of his dumb ass actions.

I have been accused of being a bleeding heart liberal but it is what it is. I'm willing to bet if the roles were reversed you wouldn't see a bunch of white people raising hell. I for one would say good, the cop took one more POS off the street and made the neighborhood safer by doing it.

I'd bet it was just a matter of time until this punk graduated to much more violent crimes.

How does maliber explain the fight in the car, the wounds to Wilson and the gun going off? There are a number of courageous witnesses who testified that brown charged the police officer. It doesn't sound like he was surrendering.

Its very likely the officers version of the story is accurate...but there are plenty of unanswered questions and abnormal procedure that will keep the critics unsatisfied. A trial would have brought all the testimony and evidence to light. The prosecutor did himself and his city a massive disservice by not taking the case to trial.

My opinion is that Michael Brown was a dirtbag and it seems clear he assaulted a police officer. The initial shots fired at close range seem justified based onthe known evidence. But then there were several other shots fired from a distance. Could the officer have shot him in the legs? Did he need to shoot him again? Multiple times? Maybe....maybe not. It would have been worth letting that play out in court....even if a lesser charge of manslaughter was pursued. Now those unanswered questions are left to the court of public opinion...and public opinion is not very favorable in Ferguson right now. It would really suck to be a cop there now.

Its not easy to defend a dirtbag but defending dirtbags sets the precedent for defending the rest of us.

I don't shoot often, however my youngest does and he occasionally takes me to his gun club (he's deer hunting as I write). Those who suggest shooting a man who is running towards you in the legs have never shot a hand gun.

You folks have watched too many movies.

No mal's thee years in law school, passing the bar and practicing law for five years gives him an understanding of how the legal system works or is supposed to work. Like I said I offer no opinion on the facts of the case itself. I never got into it or read up on it, but I can tell you the proceeding itself was very wrong, and people have a right to be pissed off about that.

People who pretend like they know the circumstances of the incident without having witnessed it dont have any credibility on the subject - which is why we have trials. Not having a trial will make community relationships all the more hostile going forward for the PD.