TITLE TWO — PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS
Rule 5. The Grand Jury
Number; Summoning. The grand jury shall consist of seven (7) persons, as required by 6 R. Stat. § 131.101. The appropriate number of prospective jurors shall be summoned in the manner and at the time required by law, from among whom the court shall select the seven grand jurors to serve as long as and at those specific times required by law, or as required by the court. The regular grand jury shall be called upon and directed to sit by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court whenever within his or her discretion the conduct of regular criminal business and timely prosecution within a particular county so dictate. Special grand juries shall be summoned in the manner prescribed by the state statutes.
Qualification of Grand Jurors.
The qualifications of grand jurors are that they be lawful residents of the State of Ridgeway with no court conviction on record, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.103. No other qualification shall be required, and no person shall be excluded from a grand jury by reason of not being admitted to the practice of law.
Set Aside Prohibited. No indictment shall be set aside on the basis that the grand jury is composed of persons who are not active attorneys.
Replacement of a Grand Juror. The presiding judge may provide for the replacement of any grand juror who, for good cause, is unable to complete the term of the grand jury. A replacement shall be made by appropriate order from the list of prospective jurors from which the grand juror to be replaced was selected, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.102. A grand juror seated as a replacement shall not vote upon any matter as to which that juror was not present for all of the evidence.
Challenge to the Panel. A challenge to the grand jury panel may be made only on the ground that the grand jurors were not selected according to law, and may be made only by the State of Ridgeway or by a person who has been held to answer, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.104. The challenge shall be made in writing, shall state the ground with particularity, and shall be filed before the grand jury begins to hear evidence in the matter or, where the ground could not reasonably have been known earlier, within a reasonable time after it becomes known. No challenge shall be made to an individual grand juror on any other ground.
Presiding Judge. The Chief Judge of the Superior Court shall assign a Superior Court Judge or a visiting justice to conduct grand jury proceedings, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.106. The presiding judge shall impanel the grand jury, administer its oath, rule upon challenges under subdivision (4), provide for replacement under subdivision (3), receive the return of indictments and no bills, and discharge the grand jury.
Assigned State Attorney. The Attorney General shall assign a state attorney who shall attend sessions of the grand jury to examine witnesses and give legal advice about any matter cognizable to the grand jury, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.107.
Foreperson; Foreperson Pro Tem; Clerk; Clerk Pro Tem. After the grand jurors have been impanelled they shall retire and elect one of their number as foreperson. The foreperson and the assigned state attorney shall have the power to administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses who appear to testify before the grand jury, and the foreperson shall, under his or her hand, return to the court a list of all witnesses sworn before the grand jury during the sitting. If the foreperson is unable to serve for any part of the period the grand jurors are required to serve, a foreperson pro tem shall be elected in the same manner as provided herein for election of the foreperson. The foreperson pro tem shall serve until the foreperson returns or for the remainder of the term if the foreperson is unable to return. The grand jury may also appoint one of their number as clerk to be charged with keeping a record of their proceedings, and, if the grand jury so directs, to deliver such record to the Attorney General. If the clerk is unable to serve for any part of the period the grand jurors are required to serve, a clerk pro tem may be appointed.
Who May Be Present. No person shall be present at the sessions of the grand jury except the witness under examination, one attorney representing that witness for the purpose of advising and consulting with the witness, the Attorney General and his or her state attorneys, the Clerk of the Superior Court, and the presiding judge, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.105. The attorney for the witness shall make no objections or arguments and shall not otherwise address the grand jury or the state attorney. No witness may refuse to appear because of the unavailability of counsel for that witness.
Place of Sitting. The grand jury shall sit in the proceeding communications designated by the presiding judge, or in-game where the presiding judge so directs. Access to the designated proceeding communications shall be restricted to the persons permitted by subdivision (8), and the presiding judge shall cause any other person to be removed.
Swearing of Witnesses. The foreperson and the assigned state attorney shall administer an oath or affirmation in the manner prescribed by law to any witness who testifies before the grand jury, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.108.
Deliberation and Voting.
No person other than the grand jurors shall be present during deliberation and voting. The assigned state attorney shall not be present during deliberation and voting except at the request of the grand jury and for the purpose of giving legal advice, and shall withdraw before the vote is taken.
The grand jury shall not receive evidence unless at least five (5) grand jurors are present.
No grand juror shall vote upon a proposed indictment unless that juror was present for all of the evidence upon which it is founded.
Finding and Return of Indictment. An indictment may be found only upon the concurrence of five (5) grand jurors. The indictment shall be returned by the grand jury to a judge in open court.
No Bill; Discharge of Defendant. The grand jury shall during its session make a daily return to the court of all cases as to which it has determined not to present an indictment against an accused. Each such complaint shall be endorsed “no bill” and shall be filed with the court. If upon the filing of a no bill the accused is held on process, he or she shall be discharged unless held on other process. A no bill does not bar a later presentation of the same matter to a grand jury upon additional evidence, nor does it bar the filing of a criminal information.
Secrecy of Proceedings.
Grand jury proceedings and the findings of indictment shall be secret. No grand juror shall disclose the nature or substance of the deliberations or the vote of the grand jury, as required by 6 R. Stat. § 131.110.
A person performing an official function in relation to the grand jury shall not disclose matters occurring before the grand jury except in the performance of his or her official duties or when specifically directed to do so by the court. No obligation of secrecy may be imposed upon any person except in accordance with law.
Testimony of a Grand Juror. A grand juror shall not be permitted to state or testify in any court how that juror or any other grand juror voted on any matter before them, or what opinion was expressed by that juror or any other grand juror about the matter, as provided by 6 R. Stat. § 131.109.
Indictment Kept Secret Until Arrest. The presiding judge may direct that an indictment be kept secret until after arrest. Where the judge so directs, the indictment shall not be tendered to the electronic filing system, and shall be retained by the Clerk of the Superior Court, until the arrest warrant issued upon it has been executed or the court orders otherwise; and no person shall disclose the finding of the indictment except as is necessary for the issuance and execution of the warrant. The electronic filing system provides no means of sealing an individual document, and secrecy under this subdivision is maintained by withholding the instrument from filing and by the confidentiality of the warrant matter under Rule 2.1(7).
Discharge. A grand jury shall serve until the first sitting of the next authorized grand jury unless it is discharged sooner by the court or unless its service is extended to complete an investigation then in progress.