Opinion ID: 202116
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Eavesdropping and the Grand Jury Shopping Theory

Text: 87 We separate the idea of eavesdropping, which could violate both Rule 6(d) and a criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1508, from the idea of grand jury shopping. 88 By limiting the persons who may be present when the grand jury is in session, Rule 6(d) protects the secrecy of the grand jury and avoids possible undue influence on the grand jury. Mechanik, 475 U.S. at 74-75, 106 S.Ct. 938 (O'Connor, J., concurring in the judgment). As to government attorneys, the limits in the Rule apply only when the grand jury is deliberating or voting. Since the second grand jury was never asked to vote on the indictment, it is difficult to see why Rule 6(d)'s purpose of avoiding undue influence is at stake here. Certainly, had there been improper eavesdropping by the government, the proper remedy would have been some sort of sanction against the agents involved. There was, in the end, no evidence to support even the eavesdropping theory. 89 The district court justified its continuing investigation, even after the magistrate judge's report, by finding sufficient indicia of eavesdropping on the second grand jury based on: first, the anonymous note from the purported member of the second grand jury; second, the statements of a few members of the second grand jury that they were surprised about not being able to vote on whether to indict; third, the acoustical study, which found that confidential privacy is not maintained and so establish[ed] that the government had the opportunity to eavesdrop on the Grand Jury from adjacent rooms; and fourth and fifth, two affidavits which the defendants had submitted describing the sighting of two FBJ agents in the vicinity of the grand jury more than a year after the indictment was returned. 90 The anonymous letter, which contained only speculation and was of dubious provenance, was itself insufficient to launch a secret magistrate-judge investigation into claimed eavesdropping by the government. After the magistrate judge's investigation, there was no factual basis to proceed further. 18 Since the second grand jury was never asked to indict, these jurors' comments are irrelevant to the criminal trial. The acoustical examination and report showed there was no hidden microphone, as alleged in the anonymous letter. An opportunity to eavesdrop was, regrettably, given to anyone in the vicinity, including the defense bar. The affidavits supplied by the defense, that government agents had been seen in the vicinity, dealt with events more than a year after the initial indictment. 91 Much more seriously, there was no basis in the law for the defendants to use their eavesdropping allegation either to question the government's use of a third grand jury or to seek dismissal of the indictment. The district court justified its inquiry into the grand jury shopping theory, in refusing to recuse itself, saying that: 92 [t]hough the government is correct in its contention that it was free to submit the case to a second grand jury even if the first was not willing to indict, the argument is nonetheless off the mark in the present context. Although the government is unquestionably endowed with wide discretion in its decision whether to submit a case to a particular grand jury, it is unquestionable that prosecutors are bound by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure in their actions. Thus, while the government could have decided not to seek an indictment from Grand Jury 02-1 for any reason, or no reason at all, it could not have reached its decision by means of a Rule 6(d) violation. 93 This reasoning does not support the court's actions. 94 It is doubtful the district court had any basis, on these allegations, to investigate the use of a third grand jury, since Rule 6 gives the government exactly that authority. Further, federal judges may not insist that prosecutors reveal deliberative or pre-decisional materials, but must instead review outputs. In re United States, 398 F.3d at 618. Rule 6 expressly authorizes the prosecutor's disclosure of matters presented to one grand jury to successive grand juries. See Fed. R.Crim.P. 6(e)(3)(C); United States v. Contenti, 735 F.2d 628, 631 n. 1 (1st Cir. 1984) (explaining that [i]t is not in the public's interest to expect each new grand jury to start all over rather than accept the work product of the prior grand jury). 95 As one commentator has noted, [t]he longstanding federal rule is that resubmissions [of an indictment after one grand jury refuses to indict] are permissible, without court approval, even when the prosecutor presents no additional evidence to the second grand jury. 4 LaFave et al., Criminal Procedure § 15.2(h), at 284-85 (2d ed.1999); see also Williams, 504 U.S. at 49, 112 S.Ct. 1735. The reason was stated by the Supreme Court in United States v. Thompson, 251 U.S. 407, 40 S.Ct. 289, 64 L.Ed. 333 (1920): [T]he power and duty of the grand jury to investigate. . . is continuous and is therefore not exhausted or limited by adverse action [previously] taken by a grand jury or by its failure to act. . . . Id. at 413, 40 S.Ct. 289; see also Ex parte United States, 287 U.S. 241, 250-51, 53 S.Ct. 129, 77 L.Ed. 283 (1932). We see nothing to suggest that Rule 6(d) was meant to cabin this historic power of the prosecution, especially where, as here, the second grand jury did not even reject the indictment — it was not asked to vote. 96 Since Rule 6 authorizes the prosecution's use of sequential grand juries, the district court's investigation ran the risk of violating the principle of separation of powers by interfering with the constitutional prerogatives of the executive branch and of the grand jury. See Williams, 504 U.S. at 48, 112 S.Ct. 1735; see also United States v. Bolden, 353 F.3d 870, 877 (10th Cir.2003) ([The Constitution] vests the Executive with substantial discretion in choosing when and how to prosecute cases.); In re United States, 345 F.3d at 452. We need not decide whether there can be some form of impermissible grand jury shopping which would warrant court inquiry. What is dispositive for present purposes is that whether or not the district court ever had any authority to question the government's reasons for submission to a third grand jury, the government provided those reasons to the district court under seal, and the reasons were entirely legitimate and reasonable. The court had no basis to look behind them.