Opinion ID: 1292314
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Release of Milwood's Grand Jury Testimony Under Nebraska Statutes Is Error.

Text: [3] To evaluate the propriety of the district court's order of April 12, 2004, our analysis must be made by reference to Nebraska statutes rather than to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Thus, we turn to the Nebraska statutes pertaining to grand jury proceedings to determine whether the release of the grand jury testimony can be made to the county attorney in this case when a no true bill was returned. [4] A review of the Nebraska statutes governing grand juries reveals only limited access to grand jury records. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1401 et seq. (Reissue 1995 & Cum. Supp. 2004). Section 29-1407.01(1) provides in part: No release or destruction of the notes or transcripts [of grand jury proceedings] shall occur without prior court approval. Elsewhere in the statutes, the circumstances for release are indicated. Section 29-1407.01(2) provides: Upon application by the prosecutor, or by any witness after notice to the prosecutor, the court, for good cause, may enter an order to furnish to that witness a transcript of his or her own grand jury testimony, or minutes, reports, or exhibits relating thereto. Section 29-1420(2) provides: A district judge under whose direction a grand jury has been impaneled may, upon good cause shown, transfer to a court of competent jurisdiction in another county or jurisdiction any evidence gathered by the grand jury that offenses have been committed in such other county or jurisdiction. For the sake of completeness, we note that release is addressed elsewhere in § 29-1420. Section 29-1420(1) describes the circumstances for the release of a grand jury report, but the grand jury in this case did not prepare a report, but, rather, returned a no true bill and nothing more. See, similarly, In re Grand Jury of Douglas Cty., 263 Neb. 981, 644 N.W.2d 858 (2002). Thus, § 29-1420(1) is not applicable. [5] Given the foregoing statutes, it is clear that court approval for the release of grand jury proceedings when there has been a no true bill is limited by statute to witnesses and to other courts. See §§ 29-1407.01(2) and 29-1420(2). The instant case does not present either of the situations described above, and therefore, the release of Milwood's testimony to the county attorney was not consistent with Nebraska statutes and was error. As indicated earlier in this opinion, the State urges this court to affirm the April 12, 2004, order of release because release would facilitate the investigation into the circumstances of Sheppard's death. We have recently observed that [t]he failure of the grand jury to return an indictment does not prevent the County Attorney from proceeding independently. In re Grand Jury of Douglas Cty., 263 Neb. at 988, 644 N.W.2d at 863. In this regard, we note that § 29-1402 provides that [t]he convening of a grand jury shall in no way limit the right of prosecution on information or complaint during the time the grand jury is in session. Further, and more on point for present purposes, § 29-1416(2) provides: Once a grand jury has returned a no true bill based upon a transaction, set of transactions, event, or events, a grand jury inquiry into the same transaction or events shall not be initiated unless the court finds, upon a proper showing by the prosecuting attorney, that the prosecuting attorney has discovered additional evidence relevant to such inquiry. The statutes clearly provide that although a no true bill was originally returned, upon the discovery of additional evidence and a proper showing to the court, an additional grand jury inquiry can be initiated. The statutes do not evince an impediment to the continued investigation which the State seeks to pursue in this case. Given case law and the relevant statutory provisions, and notwithstanding the secrecy of grand jury proceedings generally, the ability of the office of the county attorney to pursue an investigation following the return of a no true bill is not prevented by Nebraska statutes. The State's request for the release of Milwood's grand jury testimony presents a question of law, which we resolve independently of the conclusion reached by the district court. In re Grand Jury of Douglas Cty., supra . Given our foregoing analysis, we conclude the district court erred in granting the State's request for the release of Milwood's grand jury testimony.