Pubdate: Wed, 09 Aug 2000 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Copyright: 2000 Denver Publishing Co. Contact: 400 W. Colfax, Denver, CO 80204 Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/ Author: Karen Abbott, Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer JUDGE DISMISSES GRAND JURY ON WHICH ACCUSED JUROR SAT Defense Lawyers Expected To Challenge All Indictments Handed Up By Federal Panel A federal judge has sent home an entire grand jury after one of its members allegedly tried to sell secret information to accused drug lords. Defense lawyers are expected to file a flurry of court documents challenging the estimated 100 indictments that the panel returned in eight months of work. Denver U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham ordered the remaining 22 grand jurors on the panel discharged Monday, the same day one of their members was indicted by a separate federal grand jury on charges of soliciting a bribe and attempting to obstruct justice. "Although the court is not aware of information suggesting that any other grand juror knew about or participated in this alleged conduct, the court deems it to be in the public interest that this grand jury be discharged from further service," Nottingham said in the order made public Tuesday. Strickland said none of the panel's indictments is in jeopardy, despite one juror's alleged misconduct and the discharge of the entire panel. Defense lawyers, however, will argue that some or all of the indictments are invalid. "It's as inevitable as a ball rolling down a steep hill," attorney Scott Robinson said. He said defense lawyers must challenge the indictments in order to zealously represent their accused clients. "They really don't have an alternative but to see if there's a legal basis to attack any given indictment that was handed down by a grand jury which included as one of its members a now accused defendant," Robinson said. "Lots of trees will die as a result of this particular grand juror's alleged misfeasance." Strickland said one defense attorney already has asked his office to turn over a list of all the indictments returned by the discharged panel. Jim Manspeaker, chief clerk of Colorado's federal trial courts, said the court will immediately begin selecting a new grand jury to replace the one Nottingham discharged. The federal trial courts in Colorado commonly have two grand juries at work. The discharged grand jurors learned of their dismissal at a meeting Tuesday, Strickland said. "We thanked them for their service," he said. He declined to discuss the grand jurors' reactions. Their identities are secret, so grand jurors could not be reached for comment. Strickland said federal prosecutors supported Nottingham's decision to discharge the panel but did not request it and that the judge made the decision alone. A separate federal grand jury has indicted Mark Hinckley, 37, of Evergreen, for allegedly visiting the Denver office of a suspected national drug kingpin and offering to sell him a sealed indictment. Federal agents in Denver said they watched in horror as a TV monitor in an undercover location showed Hinckley offering the indictment information for $50,000. Agents earlier had planted a hidden camera and microphone in the suspect's office. The indictments were part of a nationwide investigation of methamphetamine dealing that began in Denver 10 months ago and resulted in 140 arrests across the country. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager