Opinion ID: 408167
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: grand jury issues

Text: 37 Before trial, all of the defendants moved for disclosure of the transcripts of grand jury attendance records and voting tallies. The defendants urged two grounds as justification. First, they believed the indicting grand jury may have relied on summaries of testimony before the original grand jury, which had heard evidence in the case, but whose term expired before the indictments were returned. The second ground was that not all of the twelve jurors who voted for indictment had attended every session of the grand jury.
38 The district court accepted the response of the government that the first grand jury heard testimony from 19 individuals. The second grand jury heard testimony from 51 people, two of whom had also appeared before the first grand jury. The testimony of a third prior witness was read in full to the indicting jury. No summaries were used before the second grand jury, but it had the opportunity to review all of the testimony received by the first. Because not all of the witnesses who appeared before the first grand jury testified before the indicting jury, Provenzano analogizes the procedure to the use of summaries. The district court recognized that abuse could occur through the use of successive grand juries, but did not find any to exist in this case. 39 We have indicated our concern with the practice of having a number of grand juries hear testimony which the indicting grand jury ultimately uses as a basis for indictment. See United States v. Helstoski, 635 F.2d 200, 202 & n.2 (3d Cir. 1980). We do not think that in this case, however, the district judge erred in refusing the defendant's request for disclosure of the grand jury transcripts. 40 The government justified its conduct by claiming that the investigation had taken a new turn after the second jury was impanelled. The large number of witnesses called by the indicting grand jury and the few recalled from the first group support that contention. In addition, extensive proceedings before the indicting grand jury are consistent with a complete and legitimate inquiry into the charges. Because of the number of persons called before the indicting jury, it does not appear that the government was being selective when it chose to limit the number of witnesses from the first to appear before the second. We conclude, therefore, that the trial judge properly determined that defendants had not demonstrated particularized need for breaching grand jury secrecy.
41 A more difficult question is presented by the other complaint against the grand jury-that not all who voted for the indictment had attended all of the 23 sessions. The district judge examined the voting tallies and attendance records in camera, and found that out of the twelve votes necessary under Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(f), three of the voting jurors attended every session, four missed one session each, three were absent from two sessions each, and two jurors were not present three sessions each. 42 Although there was not a perfect attendance record for the twelve voting jurors, the district judge, relying on United States v. Leverage Funding Systems, Inc., 637 F.2d 645 (9th Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 961, 101 S.Ct. 3110, 69 L.Ed.2d 972 (1981), held that neither the Fifth Amendment nor the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure imposed such a requirement. As long as a quorum was present at every session and at least twelve jurors voted to indict, both the Constitution and the rules were satisfied. The court did concede that there may be a situation where a grand juror missed so much of the evidence that the Fifth Amendment would not permit his vote to be counted, but found no such demonstration had been made here. As an additional reason for denying the defendant's motion, the court pointed out the undesirability of holding preliminary trials to determine the competency and adequacy of the evidence before the grand jury. 43 The necessity for insuring that the grand jury be informed of all the evidence cannot be ignored. As the Supreme Court said in Wood v. Georgia, 370 U.S. 375, 390, 82 S.Ct. 1364, 1373, 8 L.Ed.2d 569 (1962), (the grand jury) has been regarded as a primary security to the innocent against hasty, malicious and oppressive persecution. It is that body which determines whether a charge is founded upon reason or was dictated by an intimidating power or by malice and personal ill will. We have rejected the proposition that the grand jury is simply a prosecutor's tool and have noted its constitutional role as a shield against unjustified charges. See United States v. Goldstein, 502 F.2d 526 (3d Cir. 1974) (in banc); United States v. Serubo, 604 F.2d 807 (3d Cir. 1979); In re: Grand Jury Proceedings (Schofield), 486 F.2d 85 (3d Cir. 1973). Yet it is clear that the criminal process must not be bogged down by extensive pretrial review of grand jury activity. United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 94 S.Ct. 613, 38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974); Costello v. United States, 350 U.S. 359, 76 S.Ct. 406, 100 L.Ed. 397 (1956). 44 The district court's opinion in United States v. Leverage Funding Systems, Inc., 478 F.Supp. 799, 801 (C.D.Cal.1979), stated that if the grand jury was to fulfill its role as an independent body, at least twelve grand jurors who voted to indict should have been informed of all the evidence submitted. In that case, nine jurors were present at all 13 sessions, five were present at 12, two for 11, and two were present at nine sessions, while one was present for only six. The district judge discounted the votes of the absentee jurors, finding that a grand juror cannot be considered informed unless he attends all sessions at which evidence is presented on the proposed indictment. Id. at 803. A divided panel of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth circuit reversed, observing that a grand juror's function is to decide whether probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed exists. 637 F.2d at 648. The appellate court believed that this duty could be performed even if a grand juror was absent during the presentation of some exculpatory evidence. 45 The Second Circuit in United States ex rel. McCann v. Thompson, 144 F.2d 604 (2d Cir.) cert. denied, 323 U.S. 790, 65 S.Ct. 313, 89 L.Ed. 630 (1944), expounded the approach later adopted by the Ninth Circuit, observing that since it is quite remote that exculpatory evidence would be presented to a grand jury, it is unlikely that a defendant would be harmed by the absence of a grand juror. The absentee would merely not have heard all of the inculpatory evidence. The court in United States v. Colasurdo, 453 F.2d 585, 596 (2d Cir. 1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 917, 92 S.Ct. 1766, 32 L.Ed.2d 116 (1972), reaffirmed this position, adding that to permit a review of attendance from voting records would bog down the courts in a morass, a veritable jungle of speculation and conjecture. 46 United States v. Lang, 644 F.2d 1232, 1235 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 870, 102 S.Ct. 338, 70 L.Ed.2d 174 (1981), said that the requirements of Rule 6 belied any intention of imposing a perfect attendance requirement, for the rule only mandates that a quorum be present at every session. The court also noted that Congress had acted to extend grand jury terms to allow adequate investigations of complex criminal activity. To invalidate indictments because of jury attendance would frustrate that congressional intent. Id. at 1238. 47 The reasons advanced by the appellate courts which have considered the problem are weighty ones but, nevertheless, leave us somewhat uneasy. It is indeed speculative to consider what bit of evidence might have persuaded a grand juror to vote for or against an indictment. But the grand juror's judgment is what the Constitution requires, and the defendant is entitled to an informed determination of probable cause. 48 We recognize the practical problems created by the very nature of the grand jury's investigative role. Not all the evidence can be presented at one time-one witness' testimony may lead in turn to an investigation that extends over a period of time. Some witnesses may be unavailable at a given point and other circumstances may hinder prompt expedition. The longer the period of service, the more absences may be expected. 49 The provisions of Rule 6(e)(1), which require the recordation of grand jury proceedings, aid us in reaching agreement with the solution proposed by the Lang court. As its opinion observed, (p)rosecutors can insure that the perception of fairness, as well as its substance, are maintained by giving replacement and absent grand jurors the opportunity to review transcripts ... of missed sessions. That should go a long way to ameliorate the concerns raised here. 644 F.2d at 1239. 1 If a review of the transcripts should raise questions in a juror's mind which could be resolved by recalling a witness, that alternative would be available. Following this procedure would insure that each grand juror is fully informed of the evidence which has been presented. 50 It would have been better to utilize such a practice in this case, but we cannot say that failure to do so vitiates the indictments. We rely on the judgment of the district judge who had the opportunity to review the grand jury records in camera. The grand jury here had 23 separate sessions, and although the number of absences may border the limits of acceptability, it does not reach the point where we must say that the defendant's rights have been violated. As we note above, furnishing transcripts to absent jurors is a practical way to avoid attacks on grand jury voting in the future. 51 In view of all the circumstances here, we conclude that the district court did not err in its refusal to unseal the grand jury records.