Overview
- The U.S. Attorney’s Office has dropped a third case tied to Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg after court filings alleged she vouched for evidence to grand jurors and made off‑the‑record juror contacts.
- Boutros directed an individualized review of Mecklenburg’s grand‑jury minutes going back to 2007 that could cover more than 100 cases and pledged prosecutors must stop redacting transcripts sent to judges.
- Ten defendants in three separate prosecutions have had charges permanently dismissed so far, with one recent dismissal granted quickly by Judge Robert Gettleman after Boutros filed the motion.
- Defense teams for the Broadview Six and others are seeking broader discovery and a special counsel and have asked judges to probe who redacted transcripts and whether misconduct was concealed.
- The disclosures strike at grand juries’ secrecy and could force evidentiary hearings, disciplinary referrals and reexaminations of many indictments if the review finds widespread errors.