Court Opinion

ID: 9586753
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:14:30.620913+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:32:49.469089
License: Public Domain

Thompson, C. J.,
concurring:
While I agree with the opinion of Mr. Justice Collins I wish to add a further comment with respect to the October 3 grand jury hearing. The witnesses examined at that time were subpoenaed to testify in the case of State v. Serrano. The prosecution apparently wished to discover evidence material to the *329Serrano litigation. The procedure is not authorized. The case of State v. Serrano was then pending before the district court and was no longer grand jury business. The grand jury investigation of the Serrano case was terminated when it returned an indictment. Thereafter, proceedings in that case are to be conducted under court processes.
Though the grand jury has broad investigatory power [NRS 172.300; Dickerson v. Grand Jury, 82 Nev. 113, 412 P.2d 441 (1966)], that power vanishes when an indictment is returned. The entire statutory scheme points to this fact. For example, NRS 172.260 dealing with evidence receivable before the grand jury speaks in terms of the investigation of a charge for the purpose of indictment. This suggests that once an indictment is returned the grand jury’s function in that case ceases. Of greater significance is NRS 178.250, which authorizes the issuance of subpoenas for witnesses to testify before the grand jury upon any investigation pending before them; and subsection 2 declares directly that if the subpoenas are issued in support of an indictment the witnesses are to appear before the court in which the case is to be tried. Indeed, once a criminal case is before the court, all statutory provisions for the attendance of witnesses require the witnesses to appear before the court and not before some other body. See: NRS 178.250(2); 178.275; 178.245; 178.290-320. Accordingly, the grand jury hearing of October 3 was not statutorily authorized, and the transcript of testimony of the witnesses who appeared on that date pursuant to invalid subpoenas is subject to a motion to suppress.