Carla Wyatt
A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict Harris County’s elected treasurer, Carla Wyatt, on a burglary of a vehicle charge, court records show.
The decision followed the prosecution’s decision to skip a public hearing over the merits of Wyatt’s case in favor of a private review by the grand jury instead. It also effectively ends a second round of legal troubles against Wyatt as county leaders mull turning to the legislature to abolish her office.
[…]
On Thursday, officials with the Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare’s office walked back a prior statement claiming that misdemeanor cases are often brought before grand juries.
Rafael Lemaitre, one of Teare’s spokespeople, didn’t say why prosecutors turned to a grand jury consisting of Harris County residents instead of going forward with the public hearing, but he said grand juries can play an “especially important” role in examining misdemeanor cases involving elected officials.
“They provide independent, community‑driven oversight and ensure prosecutors have probable cause that a crime was committed before any charges move forward.”
Members of grand juries are picked like jurors in criminal and civil trials and meet twice a week for terms that sometimes last several months.
The grand jury’s decision was noted in the panel’s agenda of cases from Wednesday. The prosecutor, Carina Batista, presented two cases, including Wyatt’s burglary charge. Wyatt is still scheduled to appear in court next week, records show.
See here, here, here, and here for some background. I’m happy for Carla Wyatt, who clearly picked the right defense attorney. I don’t know that this will stop Commissioners Court from pursuing the elimination of the Treasurer position, but that’s a problem for another day for her. May this be the last time she makes the news for something not related to that position.