Grand Jury Dismisses All Charges!

My week has been consumed defending a client who was arrested on February 20th and charged with felony assault breaking his friend's leg.  According to my client, they were goofing around pushing and shoving and it escalated to an exchange of punches.  The "victim" is a foot taller and almost 100 pounds heavier. The victim suffered the injury after the punches were exchanged when he slipped on snow and ice and folded his ankle breaking his lower leg.  It was clear that his fall was not the result of my client's actions, but his own clumsiness.   When I was retained on Monday, my client was still being held in jail.  Although he is in the United States legally, if convicted, he would undoubtedly be deported.   We decided that he should take a calculated risk and testify in the grand jury waiving immunity because if he didn't he would certainly be indicted.  He testified for two days about the incident and that  the victim's wife asked for $20,000 to drop the charges.  It appears he even convinced the district attorney that he was telling the truth.  This morning the grand jury voted to dismiss all charges against him.  Monday night he was in jail facing prison time and deportation.  Today he is a free man with his name cleared.