Why a grand jury is hearing evidence 3 years after the 2020 police brutality protests

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TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- A Travis County Grand Jury is weighing evidence presented by the district attorney in cases of officers accused of deadly conduct.

Sources say the DA's office will present a deadly conduct charge to the jury stemming from the May 31, 2020 racial justice protests in downtown Austin.

KXAN asked a legal expert if the timing is unusual.

"It all depends on what the statute of limitations is, for the particular crime that the charging agency is seeking to prosecute," criminal defense attorney Edmund "Skip" Davis said.

"Deadly conduct comes in two forms," Davis said. "It comes as a misdemeanor and it also comes as a felony. As a misdemeanor, the statute of limitations is two years. So if your incident occurred in 2020, that statute of limitations has already expired, and it can't be charged as a misdemeanor."

Davis said the felony version of deadly conduct has a three-year statute of limitations.

While the grand jury proceedings are secret, Davis said the suspect is allowed to speak on their behalf but it is not required.

"The grand jury usually invites their target to come and present their case, or at least their side," Davis said. "The grand jury proceedings don't have to notify the person who's the target, that they're being investigated for criminal act. So it's kind of a secretive thing in that regard."