Opinion ID: 1344889
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the grand jury report and the statute

Text: ¶ 12 The trial court and appellate division differed on whether the grand jury violated 22 O.S.1991 § 346. We believe the Court of Civil Appeals was correct. The report not only disclosed that Stonecipher had been the subject of sexual harassment complaints, but that he had admitted to them, and should be fired as a liability to Pittsburg County. We believe this language amounts to a charge of willful misconduct, publication of which is prohibited by law. ¶ 13 As to Long, the report publicized her job performance as being so politically influenced that she did not act in the best interests of the child, and that she likewise should be immediately terminated. Again, we find this language suggestive of willful and corrupt misconduct, and within the prohibitions of the statute. ¶ 14 We need not speculate on the public policy behind § 346; it is right there in the final sentence: It being the intent of this section to preserve to every person the right to meet his accusers in a court of competent jurisdiction and be heard, in open court, in his defense. The public policy as so codified was ignored by the grand jury. This statute uses the word shall, and we have often explained that this word indicates a mandatory duty, unless otherwise is indicated by the context in which it appears. Minie v. Hudson, 1997 OK 26, n. 13, 934 P.2d 1082, 1085, citing, Texaco, Inc. v. City of Oklahoma City, 1980 OK 169, 619 P.2d 869, 871. See Key v. Owens, 1996 OK CIV APP 150, ¶ 16, 935 P.2d 1189, (approved for publication by the Supreme Court), where that court explained that the word shall is mandatory in the constitutional provision requiring a grand jury upon the filing of a petition with the appropriate number of signatures. We conclude, in light of the statutory language that § 346 is intended to effectuate a person's right to confront that person's accusers, the statutory prohibition included therein is mandatory. The final question, then, is whether the courts may edit or expunge portions of a grand jury report once filed.