I noticed yesterday in the “Ferguson, the play” thread that there seems to be some confusion about the way the grand jury testimony in the Ferguson matter was obtained by the playwright. So I thought I’d try to clarify.

No, the author didn’t have to do any special sleuthing to have access to the Ferguson grand jury proceedings. And yes, these things are usually sealed.

Ferguson was considered an extraordinary case in which public interest was intense and there was grave risk of riots and other violence at the announcement of the grand jury’s decision, particularly if it went against what the crowd wanted.

If the grand jury indicted Wilson, there would ordinarily be a trial and the evidence would come out publicly. In addition, the mob would be happy about an indictment. But what if there was no indictment? In that case, not only would there probably be violence, but the public would never know on what the grand jury had based its refusal to indict. There would be a very volatile situation in terms of public safety, and this was understood at the outset.

So before the grand jury even began its work, this announcement was made [emphasis mine]:

The decision to indict Wilson rests with the grand jury.

“If there’s an indictment of any charge, then all of the information would come out during the course of the prosecution,” [prosecutor] McCulloch said. “If there is no indictment, normally it’s a closed record, a closed file unless the judge agrees to release it. And the judge has told me that she will order that everything be released.”

All testimony is being recorded, McCulloch said, It is being prepared for release as the grand jury progresses, and is being shared with the federal government, which is conducting an independent investigation.

Such a release is unusual but not unprecedented and within the discretion of the judge. The MSM covered the release, and the full text of the proceedings was not only available to the playwright but to anyone with access to a computer.