ST. LOUIS — A member of the grand jury that declined to indict a white Ferguson police officer in the shooting death of Michael Brown is challenging a federal judge’s dismissal of her lawsuit that sought to allow her to speak publicly about those secret proceedings.
The woman, identified only as ‘‘Grand Juror Doe,’’ wants the St. Louis-based Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to overturn US District Judge Rodney Sippel’s May decision to toss her bid to speak out about her time on the panel.
Sippel sided with lawyers for Robert McCulloch, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, in ruling that the former grand juror needs to go to a state court for permission to talk publicly. Her lawsuit in state court is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday.
McCulloch’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday.
The lawsuits have claimed McCulloch mischaracterized the jury’s findings when he announced in November that the panel declined to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the August 2014 shooting death of Brown, 18, who was black and unarmed.
That shooting — and the grand jury’s clearing of Wilson — fueled protests that at times turned violent in a case that spawned the national ‘‘Black Lives Matter’’ movement.
Grand Juror Doe’s lawsuits, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, allege that McCulloch wrongly implied all 12 jurors believed there was no support for any charges.
Under Missouri law, an indictment requires agreement by nine of the panel’s dozen members, and grand jurors are sworn to secrecy under the threat of contempt or other charges.
Wilson, who has resigned, also was cleared by a Justice Department investigation.