Overview
- Federal grand juries have increasingly issued "no true bills," meaning they declined to indict cases the Justice Department presented, a pattern that reporters say is uncommon and growing in multiple districts.
- A Chicago federal judge recently dismissed charges against four Democratic activists after finding prosecutors coached jurors outside the room, removed jurors who disagreed, and tried to hide those actions in redacted transcripts.
- At least three federal judges since last November have formally admonished DOJ prosecutors for misconduct before grand juries, signaling rising judicial scrutiny of how cases are presented.
- Legal analysts and former prosecutors link the problems to staffing choices at the DOJ, saying inexperienced political loyalists in senior roles have replaced career attorneys and weakened prosecutors’ credibility.
- The surge in rejections has clustered in cities such as Los Angeles and Washington and mostly involves protest- and immigration-related cases, a trend that could curb the department’s ability to pursue politically charged prosecutions and invite more court oversight.