Despite civil rights activist Al Sharpton’s outcries that "justice will come to Ferguson," there are no grounds for a federal civil rights action and the only possible legal avenue is a civil suit brought by the family of slain teen Michael Brown, and even that outcome is questionable, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said Monday on "America’s Forum"on
Newsmax TV.
"This has always been a very close case," Dershowitz told host J.D. Hayworth. "The first shots fired were legitimate without any doubt when Brown came up to the car and tried to wrestle the gun away. The second shots are close questions and close questions ought to always be resolved in favor of the defendant, even if he's a policeman, in a criminal case."
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on DIRECTV Ch. 349 and DISH Ch. 223
Get Newsmax TV on your cable system — Click Here Now
Former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, shot and killed Brown, an unarmed black teen after Brown reportedly attacked Wilson.
It’s possible that "here may be some federal interest in how Ferguson polices and how the grand jury process operates," but Wilson will not face any legal action, according to Dershowitz, who noted that he is not critical of the grand jury verdict, but is "a little critical of the process."
"The process sounded a little bit phony to me," he said. "The prosecutor made up his own mind already
— though it may have been the right decision
— but then he presented a skewed case apparently to the grand jury, very much against seeking an indictment. Prosecutors do that all the time, usually seeking an indictment. This time the shoe is on the other foot."
A civil rights action against Wilson would be "impossible" to prove.
"You have to prove, No. 1, that Wilson would not have done this if the same situation had occurred with a 6-foot-4, 300-pound white man charging at him and that he made the decision based on race in order to deny Brown his civil rights," he explained. "I don't think that's possible to be proved on this record. The worst you can prove is he made a mistake in judgment. So a civil rights action against Wilson is virtually impossible. If it were to be brought, it would be political and not legal in nature."