NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The district attorney in Nashville says a former grand jury foreman had a felony record and was ineligible to serve, threatening the validity of more than 900 indictments from 2011.
Tennessee state law requires grand jury indictments in criminal cases and it forbids people with felony convictions from serving on juries. Grand jury foremen typically sign the indictments for criminal charges.
District Attorney Torry Johnson said in a news release Thursday that he's working with judges, the state attorney general and the criminal court clerk to determine how to deal with the problem.
The issue was first reported by WTVF-TV.
The news release said about 700 of the cases have been resolved, mostly through guilty pleas, and about 90 are pending.
Johnson didn't identify the grand jury foreman.
