One week after Daniel Penny put Jordan Neely in a deadly chokehold on the F train, some New Yorkers — most visibly protesters who occupied subway tracks — are impatiently waiting for charges in the case.
“A week seems like a long time to some, but it’s not as important as getting to the right decision on charging using the right process,” said Cy Vance, the former Manhattan District Attorney, in an interview. “And that requires more time, often, than some people feel is justified. But generally speaking, it’s a longer process than people appreciate.”
If arrests happen, the process can play out in two ways.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could file a felony complaint against Penny or any other individual alleged to have been involved in Neely’s death. At that point, the individual would be arrested and a judge would decide whether to hold that person in jail while they await trial. Then prosecutors would have six months to convene a grand jury to move forward with the felony indictment.
Or, Bragg could go directly to the grand jury — presenting any evidence that investigators have accumulated — before moving forward with an arrest. If the grand jury votes to indict, the defendant would then surrender and go before a judge to be arraigned. That’s usually where the person would enter a plea, and when the judge would decide whether to hold him or her in custody. Former prosecutors said that is the more likely scenario if Bragg decides to pursue charges.
One of Penny’s attorneys, Steven Raiser, told Gothamist on Sunday night that he has not been notified that a grand jury has convened, which is legally required if that were to happen.
But while there are few signs yet that Bragg is planning to convene a grand jury, there are reasons he might choose to do so. Once a grand jury is impaneled, according to Jeremy Saland, a criminal defense attorney who once worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, evidence can be…
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