TOPEKA, KS — It’s been more than a decade since a grand jury assembled in the Shawnee County District Court – but a 12 women and three men have been chosen to gather there soon to decide whether the Topeka Evangelical Area Ministries is correct about porn.The group heard District Judge David Bruns read a 55-page charge and instructions, which warned them about possible criminal conduct that could be presented to them during their tenure as jurors, specifically alleged violations of Kansas obscenity laws by businesses in the county.
Once the jury was selected, the judge ordered the grand jury room off-limits, including interviews with, and photographs or identification of the members without court order. Even the press was included, with interviews and news reports barred from the third floor of the courthouse where the grand jury will meet.
The Topeka Evangelical Area Ministries motivated the trial, contending that pornography creates and promotes crime, and urging action along with the submission of 200 pages of signatures from morally outraged citizens on April 20th.
The instructions, which Bruns read to the newly selected jurors, also indicates that “the court anticipates that the district attorney will also be bringing several other alleged criminal violations before the grand jury, in addition to those set forth in the petition.”
Additionally, the instructions indicated that upon investigation of possible wrong doing, the grand jury will determine the identity of the culprit and decide whether there is probably cause to charge the individual or business with a crime.
A dozen of the 15 jury members must vote for indictment in order for it to move forward during the three months they are allowed to serve, unless additional time is determined to be necessary. Confidentiality during this time is deemed a high priority.
The last time that a grand jury was assembled in the area was 1994. No indictment resulted. Prior to that, the Citizens for Honesty in Government sought a grand jury to investigate governmental corruption in 1991. Misdemeanor charges were leveled but dismissed.
