Opinion ID: 4375163
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: On July 6, 2017, the Douglas County coroner certified to the Douglas County District Court that Bearheels “died while being apprehended by or while in the custody of a law - 130 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 302 Nebraska R eports IN RE GRAND JURY OF DOUGLAS CTY. Cite as 302 Neb. 128 enforcement officer or detention personnel.”1 The district court called a grand jury and appointed a special prosecutor from the Nebraska Attorney General’s office. The grand jury convened and returned “A True Bill,” which indicated that at least 12 of the 16 grand jurors found probable cause to believe that a crime had been committed by the two police officers.2 On its own motion and without a hearing, pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1407.01(2)(b) (Reissue 2016), the district court ordered that a transcript of the grand jury proceedings be prepared and made available for public review in the office of the clerk of district court. The following day, the special prosecutor filed a motion requesting that the grand jury documents not be publicly disclosed. The special prosecutor’s motion maintained that public disclosure is appropriate only when the grand jury does not return an indictment, known as a “no true bill,”3 and that disclosure of the transcript containing the testimony of 20 witnesses and 847 exhibits presented to the grand jury would undermine the pending criminal prosecutions of the two individuals who were indicted. The court held a hearing on the matter. The special prosecutor appeared, as well as counsel for each police officer and counsel for the Omaha World-Herald and KETV Channel 7 (the media). The court heard arguments, received evidence, took the matter under advisement, and issued a written order in which it maintained its previous ruling based upon its interpretation of the plain and ordinary meaning of § 29-1407.01(2)(b), which provides: In the case of a grand jury impaneled pursuant to subsection (4) of section 29-1401, a transcript, including any exhibits of the grand jury proceedings, shall be prepared at court expense and shall be filed with the court where 1 See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1401(4) (Reissue 2016). 2 See Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 25-1633, 29-1406(2)(e), and 29-1416(1) (Reissue 2016). 3 See § 29-1406(2)(g)(ii). - 131 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 302 Nebraska R eports IN RE GRAND JURY OF DOUGLAS CTY. Cite as 302 Neb. 128 it shall be available for public review. Such transcript shall not include the names of grand jurors or their deliberations. Based upon its understanding of the requirements of § 29-1407.01(2)(b), the court instructed the clerk to “upon a request, make a location available for the requesting individual to review said transcript and exhibits and complete said review within a reasonable time.” The court’s order did not allow for dissemination or photocopying of the transcript. The special prosecutor argues on appeal that there is a lack of clarity regarding the mandate of public disclosure under § 29-1407.01(2)(b). The special prosecutor points to the Legislature’s adoption of 2016 Neb. Laws, L.B. 1000, which amended § 29-1407.01(2)(b) to make grand jury transcripts available for public review for all in-custody deaths, and amended § 29-1406(2)(g), which makes a grand jury report and transcript for in-custody deaths publicly available when a grand jury returns no true bill. The special prosecutor argues that the Legislature intended to create transparency in a grand jury proceeding in which a police officer is exonerated, but did not anticipate that the grand jury transcript and exhibits would be made public when a true bill is returned and the indictment process is ongoing. The special prosecutor stated that the exhibits before the grand jury included investigative reports, autopsy and toxicology reports, photographs, and digital media. The special prosecutor acknowledged that it filed this appeal to protect the record and to provoke legislative change. We moved the case to our docket pursuant to our statutory authority to regulate the caseloads of the appellate courts of this State.4 ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR The special prosecutor assigns, restated, that the district court erred in interpreting § 29-1407.01(2)(b), and related 4 See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-1106 (Cum. Supp. 2018). - 132 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 302 Nebraska R eports IN RE GRAND JURY OF DOUGLAS CTY. Cite as 302 Neb. 128 s­tatutes, to require that the grand jury transcript and exhibits be made publicly available. In particular, the special prosecutor argues that grand jury records should not be made public when the grand jury is impaneled pursuant to § 29-1401(4) and the grand jury returns a true bill.