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2/26/2020
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Rep. Millea introduces bill to allow public grand jury reports
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 STATE HOUSE – Rep. Christopher T. Millea (D-Dist. 16, Cranston) has introduced legislation (2020-H 7641) which would allow grand juries to issue reports to the public after review and acceptance by the Superior Court.
“As we have seen with the recent refusal to make the 38 Studios grand jury materials public, there are some cases in which the public’s right to know what happened supersedes the privacy protections of the grand jury process. If enacted, I believe this bill should only apply to very specific cases and not all grand jury investigations, but in certain circumstances, the public has the absolute right to know the truth and this piece of legislation will allow that to be possible,” said Representative Millea.
According to the legislation, a grand jury would be able to submit a report to the Superior Court for public release. A minimum of 12 grand jurors must request and sign off on the request to the Superior Court.
Within 30 days of receiving the report, the Superior Court would notify in writing all individuals or entities named in the report. These individuals or entities would then have 30 days to review the report and provide any written responses to the report to the Superior Court. Individuals and entities mentioned in the report will also have to indicate whether or not they feel the report should be released to the public.
The Superior Court may take into account several factors in determining whether or not to release the grand jury report to the public, including:
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The grand jury and the Attorney General were acting within the statutory jurisdiction of such persons in convening the grand jury;
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The report is based on facts revealed in the course of the grand jury investigation and is supported by a preponderance of the evidence;
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The report does not contain material that is personal in nature and which is not related to any lawful inquiry;
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The report does not disclose the identity of a confidential informant;
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The filing of such report as a public record does not prejudice the fair consideration of any criminal matter.
If the Superior Court determines the grand jury report is not appropriate for public release, the Attorney General may appeal the decision to the state’s Supreme Court. If the court does choose to make the report public, any person or entity named in the report may also appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
“The grand jury process is an important and vital tool within our judicial system and I am a firm believer in its effectiveness and necessity. However, there are cases that are so big, and affect so many different Rhode Islanders in different ways, that there needs to be a mechanism in order to bring these materials into the light for public review. This bill will do that, while also protecting the safe guards of the grand jury system,” concluded Representative Millea.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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