kendall coffey, former u.s. attorney as well as echo yank ca giving their view as criminal law experts. you're viewing live foot and, msnbc federal coverage of the ongoing events in ferguson, missouri. the cars lurning on the left of your screen as we've reported. this is one of several types of fires in about a four-block radius. and other breaking news this hour, the missouri governor here jay flixen putting out a new press release statement this hour about keeping the national guard ready for obviously the scene you're seeing on your screen and tomorrow morning. we're also awaiting as we've been putting on the screen in the lower third, st. louis county police holding a news conference here at this late hour, 1:30 a.m. local time. that is something that we have been an braised of in the media and we're going to endeavor toe cover it and bring whatever is relevant out of it. the big announcement tonight, of course, was not the police updating us on the state of the city. the big announce. was bob mcculloch, th

and also with me is former federal prosecutor kendall coffey.tlemen, it's good to have you all with me. jim, let me start with you really fast because we know that the governor had put the state of emergency into effect over a week ago. now we have this additional call-up of national guardsmen coming in. again, hindsight being 20-20, as you are evaluating the steps that you've seen put in place over the last week and the steps that we're watching in real-time, what's your evaluation of how the situation is being handled? >> well, i think they did show a lot of restraint tonight, like the chief said and captain johnson. i think they did take a step back and let their crowd on -- in front of ferguson police headquarters march. you didn't see police going in with batons or trying to move the crowd with force. in fact, most of the video feed from nbc news was police were pretty static and when they moved there was a slow move of their vehicles. you didn't see those long rifles like we saw back in august. much more tempered response. there was some s

i want to bring in kendall coffey, a former u.s. rney, that means a federal prosecutor as well as dr. james peterson joining us in the studio. good evening to you both. kendall, let me start with you. when you look at these charges and this unusual release of information, how is the public supposed to do what everyone from the prosecutor to eric holder to president obama has said here, which is respect the outcome and yet in the coming days, pick through all of this material and all this evidence without second-guessing what the jurors decided? >> well, i this i first of all, it's fair enough to say that the outcome should be accepted as part of the legal process. it doesn't mean anyone has to agree with it. it certainly doesn't mean it can't be second-guessed. i think it's important that we do look at the way this grand jury was conducted. and examine the process critically. appreciating the service, the public service of the grand jurors is important. but questioning whether the prosecutor in setting up a grand jury in a fashion th

. >> already, kendall coffey, lizz brown, appreciate the time tonight. >>> up next, the unrest goes nationalleaders are calling for calm as we approach another night of protests. this is "hardball," the place for politics. r credit score, they don't have one. r credit score, but they do. your score still needs someone to take care of it. it needs your help. for the low price of completely free forever, you can get your credit score from credit karma.com. credit karma will give you your score for free and show you what you can do to nurture it. love your score. take care of it for free at credit karma.com. >>> back to "hardball." anger reverberating across the country last night with thousands taking to the streets to protest in metropolitan areas across the country. even now in new york city, more demonstrators have gathered in front of the lincoln tunnel, blocking rush hour traffic at that critical artery. there's also a bizarre episode that occurred yesterday when the city's top law enforcement official, the commissioner was splattered in the face with flake blood, thrown by a protester. t

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attorney kendall coffey and prosecutor paul henderson, thank you both for being here. >> thanks, reverend. >> i want to hear from both of you on this. the grand jury has considered a lot of charges. kendall, where do you see this going tonight? >> i think most of us would be surprised if the grand jury brings any charges. in large part because of the way this investigation and this process was structured. the prosecutor was never a leader presenting a narrative, a theory of the case, leading the grand jury, which is what they normally do. instead, they just let all the evidence in, we'll read the law to the grand jury and they decide. that is not the way this is typically done at all. it was very unusual. and i think, in no small part, that kind of structure, that kind of process, basically set in motion, what i think is an inevitable decision that there will not be charges. >> paul, you're a veteran. prosecutor. have you ever seen a grand jury handled like this? and what is your prediction tonight? >> i've never seen a jury handled in this manner. i think he's correct. i don't expect to