Houston Grand Jury Indictes Abortion Foes

choi

Latest News First.

(1) Manny Fernandez, Lawyers Assail 'Runaway Grand Jury' in Indictments of Abortion Opponents. New York Times, Jan 28, 2016.
(lawyers for defendants want district attorney to dismiss cases)

My comment: There i no need to read this report.

(2) Manny Fernandez, 'Proud, Pro-Life Texan' Leads Prosecution Against Anti-Abortion Activists; A balancing act as a by-the-book lawyer in the Planned Parenthood case. New York Times, Jan 27, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/2 ... arenthood-case.html

Quote:

"investigation into the videos recorded in Houston in April at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. * * * She [Anderson] took the case to the grand jurors, presented them with evidence from a monthslong investigation and appeared to have allowed them to come to their own conclusions, however politically unpalatable it may have turned out for conservatives. The grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing.

"Ms Anderson was asked by one of the most powerful Republican elected officials in Texas, Lt Gov. Dan Patrick, to open a criminal investigation into Planned Parenthood in August after the release of an undercover video * * * Ms Anderson agreed

"The indicted abortion opponents, David R Daleiden, 27, and Sandra S Merritt, 62, were charged with making and presenting fake ID cards with the intent to defraud for their meeting at Planned Parenthood in Houston. The IDs resembled California driver’s licenses, and included their real photographs but fake names and addresses, and many of the same markings and data on a real license.  Mr Daleiden and Ms Merritt each face a charge of tampering with a governmental record, a felony in this case.

Note:
(a) "Harris County district attorney, Devon Anderson"
(i) Harris County, Texas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris_County,_Texas
(As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,092,459, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third-most populous county in the United States [after Los Angeles County, Calif (2010 census: 9,818,605) and Cook County, Ill (2010: 5,194,675)]; county seat is Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth-largest city in the United States [2010: city 2,099,451]; named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the area)
(ii) Devon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon
(archaically known as Devonshire; The City of Exeter is the county town; Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, and Early Medieval was the homeland of the Dumnonii [qv; meaning unsettled] Brittonic Celts)

(b) "a no-nonsense, by-the-book lawyer"
(i) by the book: "strictly according to the rules  <a cop who doesn’t exactly play it by the book>"
http://www.oxforddictionaries.co ... erican_english/book
(ii) to do sth by the rule book: "to do something in the normal, accepted way"
http://www.collinsdictionary.com ... th-by-the-rule-book

(c) "I’m not dinging her or giving her credit"
(i) ding (vt): "US  to ​damage the ​surface of something ​slightly by ​hitting it  <She was ​worried she might ding the ​car beside her when she ​parked>"
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ding
(ii) The Cambridge dictionary does not supply etymology.
(A) But the Dictionary.com does.

ding (vt; [First Known Use] 1250-1300; Middle English dingen, dengen, probably Old English *dingan; akin to Old English dencgan, Old Norse dengja)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ding?s=t
(B) The Free Dictionary assents, citing American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2011.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ding

choi

(3) Planned Parenthood Foes Indicted; In a surprise, a Texas grand jury charges opponents of group in video case. Wall Street Journal, Jan 26, 2016.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/gran ... d-videos-1453761641

Quote:

(a) "The grand jury in Harris County, which includes Houston, on Monday indicted David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt

(b) "The felony charge carries a possible maximum 20-year prison sentence, while the misdemeanor charge carries a sentence of up to a year.

"According to the indictments, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the felony charges are related to Mr Daleiden and Ms Merritt using fake California driver’s licenses 'with the intent to defraud or harm another.'

"The indictments, which were filed in Harris County Court, were perfunctory and didn’t disclose details of the case. But they included copies of the fake licenses Mr Daleiden and Ms Merritt allegedly used to access Planned Parenthood, which list false names.

"The move represented a surprise twist in the case * * *

(c) "The district attorney’s office began investigating a Texas branch of Planned Parenthood, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Inc, in August, after a call for a probe of the videos by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in July. The matter was investigated by the district attorney, Houston police and the Texas Rangers. The Harris County grand jury began hearing evidence around the end of November. * * * said Ms Anderson in a statement[:] 'As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us. All the evidence uncovered in the course of this investigation was presented to the grand jury. I respect their decision on this difficult case.'

"Philip Hilder, a criminal defense attorney in Houston and former federal prosecutor, called the circumstances of the indictment 'highly unusual.' He wasn't involved in the Planned Parenthood case.

" * * * 'The grand jury started out looking at one entity and realized they were being used and turned the tables,' he [Hilder] said. 'And that is what a grand jury is supposed to do. They are supposed to be an independent investigative body.'

My comment:
(a) The front page (A1) heralds the report with a bust photo and its caption: "On Tape[:] David Daleiden, above, and another antiabortion activist were indicted by a grand jury investing alleged misconduct by Planned Parenthood.
(i) on tape: "recorded on magnetic tape"
oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/on-tape
(ii) "On tape" because the two anti-abortion activists secretly tape (for both images and voices) the conversation with a Planned Parenthood official, though the activists are not indicted for the secret taping.
(b) There is no need to read the rest of the WSJ report.