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Tony Stewart And Others React To Case Heading To Grand Jury

By Christopher Olmstead

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Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

UPDATE #1 – Yesterday ESPN Legal Analyst Robert Cossack weighed in on the Tony Stewart situation. According to Cossack there isn’t an outcome in his mind where he can see Stewart being charged with a crime.

“It is difficult for me to think of what crime… he actually committed. The hallmark of any crime is that you must intend to commit that crime. I don’t see how the prosecution would ever be able to prove that Stewart intended to do harm to Kevin Ward, Jr., unless there is some super-special, secret evidence that we have no idea about. Proceedings before a grand jury are always secret, (including) the witnesses, the evidence and even the time it’s going to be (conducted). We don’t know very much, but I can’t think of any crime Tony Stewart can be charged with.”

“If he had acted in a way that was grossly negligent and abdicated responsibility to (a large) degree, it could be raised to criminal behavior. But in this case, I can’t see how they can ever charge him with being grossly negligent. After all, Kevin Ward was walking down the middle of a race track where people were… going very, very fast. How are they ever going to prove that Stewart was not as alert as he should have been? Forget `beyond a reasonable doubt.’ Beyond any doubt! How are they going to prove that?”

“We’re talking about (fractions of) seconds in a not-well lit (venue) where a guy suddenly appeared, walking the wrong way in the middle of the race track. How can they prove that Tony Stewart wasn’t paying enough attention, or that his intent was to do something bad?”

End Update–

Today was not the best of days for NASCAR driver Tony Stewart but it also wasn’t the worst of days. It was announced Tuesday afternoon that the DA overseeing the Tony Stewart investigation has decided to send the case to be heard before a grand jury. The reason that this isn’t the best of news is because the DA could have decided that there wasn’t sufficient evidence in the case and as a result could have dropped it.

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By sending the case to the grand jury it simply allows for the legal system to further play out. Although the case will appear before the grand jury it still doesn’t mean that Stewart is being charged with anything. The proceedings in front of the grand jury will result in whether or not charges end up being brought against Stewart or if the grand jury doesn’t feel there is sufficient evidence the case will be dropped.

Upon hearing the news of the DA’s decision Stewart himself didn’t have much to say. In a press release Stewart said “I look forward to this process being completed, and I will continue to provide my full cooperation.” Stewart also said that he respects the time and effort authorities have spent “investigating this tragic accident.”

District Attorney Tantillo couldn’t say much in regards to the case going to the grand jury but was able to offer the following insight as to why that decision was made. “Upon my review of all of the information contained in the entire investigation. I have made the determination that it would be appropriate to submit the evidence to the grand jury for their determination as to what action should be taken in this matter.”

NASCAR spokesman Brett Jewkes also released a comment about the ruling today. “We are aware of the completed investigation and the announced next steps,” he said. “We will monitor this process and stay in close contact with Stewart-Haas Racing. It would be inappropriate for NASCAR to comment on this case so we will continue to respect the process and authorities involved.”

There is currently no timetable as to when the case will go before the grand jury. Beyond The Flag will continue to update this article as more information becomes available.

Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.

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