Tennessee Tenth Judicial District chief prosecutor Steven Crump told a local newspaper that grand juries work independently of prosecutors and are “extremely caring and thoughtful” in their deliberations. In March of last year, however, a McMinn County grand jury indicted CDR Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III (Ret.), a 24-year Navy veteran with numerous military commendations and awards, on three felony counts and one misdemeanor count even though its members were compromised from the previous actions of former foreman Jeffrey Cunningham. In the Tenth District, the foreman is judicially-appointed and serves indefinitely at the pleasure of the judge, sometimes for decades.