Court Opinion

ID: 9612549
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 04:09:46.782748+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:41:42.767600
License: Public Domain

MACY, Justice,
concurring.
I concur with this opinion simply because the failure to strictly comply with the grand jury statutes in effect at the time did not violate defendant’s constitutional rights to due process. However, I cannot subscribe to the reasoning that we are free to consider irregularities in criminal proceedings as being harmless merely because a defendant later is found guilty by a jury.
It clearly was wrong for the prosecutor in this case to not reveal that at least part of the grand jury proceedings had been recorded.
Those who do not fairly conduct criminal proceedings should take little comfort with the holdings in this case. There is a point at which this Court must provide the remedy of reversal when those in the justice delivery system do not exercise fundamental fairness in conducting criminal proceedings, regardless of whether or not irregularities reach constitutional proportions.