Tony Stewart’s grand jury case, explained

Tony Stewart’s fate as to whether he is charged with a crime for his involvement in the death of Kevin Ward Jr. will be determined by a grand jury consisting of 23 members, 16 of whom must be present for all the testimony.

Ward, 20, was killed during a sprint car race Aug. 9 at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park. Following a racing collision with Stewart, Ward was walking toward the bottom of the track when Stewart struck him with the right rear wheel. An autopsy ruled Ward died of blunt force trauma.

When exactly the grand jury will convene has yet to be determined, but Ontario County (N.Y.) District Attorney Michael Tantillo said the date will be in the “near future” in a statement Tuesday. When it does meet, the grand jury faces a complicated case with little precedent to help it reach a conclusion.

The role of the grand jury is fairly straightforward: It must only determine if the evidence is legally sufficient and provides reasonable cause to believe Stewart has committed the crime raised before it. Twelve jurors (a majority) must agree that it does in order for charges to progress.

“The grand jury determines if formal charges should be issued against a person based on the evidence presented and legal instructions given,” Van Blarcom-Gupko said. “The grand jury can ask the D.A. questions about the law and can also ask witnesses questions. The witness questions are filtered through the D.A., who determines if the questions are relevant and legally proper and asks them only if they are both.”

Unlike a jury trial, Stewart does not have to be in attendance and there will be no deciding his guilt or innocence. Stewart, however, can choose to testify before the grand jury, and if he does his attorney can be present solely to advise him. The defense cannot cross-examine witnesses, and the only role of the judge is to answer questions that may arise from the grand jurors.

However, the defense can ask the grand jury to hear particular testimony from a particular individual. The grand jury can ask relevant questions of witnesses and can recall a witness to testify a second time if desired.

Because grand jury proceedings are confidential, the public will not know the specifics of what transpires, though witnesses can speak publicly after giving testimony but only about their own testimony. Members of the grand jury are not permitted to be contacted by the media.

When deliberating, a grand jury has three options to consider, Van Blarcom-Gupko explained.

“First, the grand jury could determine that there is ‘No True Bill,’ which means no basis to proceed with charges against Stewart and dismiss the case,” she said. “Second, they can determine that the evidence warrants the filing of felony criminal charges, which would be done through a formal indictment also referred to as a bill (short for bill of indictment). Finally, the grand jury could determine only misdemeanor (no felony) charges are warranted and return it to the lower court to be addressed.”

If the grand jury concludes a sufficient amount of evidence is not present to charge Stewart, that effectively closes the case against the three-time NASCAR Cup champion pertaining to his involvement in Ward’s death.

What decision the grand jury will come to is complicated and hard to predict, according to Van Blarcom-Gupko, who does not believe an indictment is warranted. However, she believes because of the high frequency of grand juries issuing indictments, statistics do not favor Stewart escaping criminal charges.

If an indictment is brought against Stewart charging him with a crime, the possibility of a plea deal arises. That may be an objectionable scenario for Stewart, due to the potentially negative impact on his reputation, which would adversely affect his relationship with sponsors.

“If an indictment is handed down, I continue to suspect it will be criminal negligence, as it does not seem that any of the information (even that mentioned but not publicly available) suggests intention of any kind on Stewart’s part,” Van Blarcom-Gupko said.

“Ultimately, if indicted, I suspect Tony Stewart will take his case to trial, testify as to what happened, and present compelling experts to address the enhanced video and motorsports in general to explain how the events of that evening were simply a tragic accident.”