DOJ Suggests Rule Change to Authorize Release of Historic Grand Jury Information
The U.S. Justice Department is backing a change in federal rules to authorize disclosure of older grand jury testimony.
Attorney General Eric Holder writes in a letter that courts should be allowed to disclose archival grand jury materials of great historical significance, the New York Times reports.
Archived copies of grand jury transcripts in cases determined to be historically significant are transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration. Holder proposes an amendment to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to allow disclosure of these materials in two instances.
The first would allow courts to disclose the information on a case-by-case basis when transcripts are at least 30 years old, disclosure would not materially prejudice any living person, and disclosure would not impede any pending government probe or prosecution. The second would allow the National Archives to disclose any grand jury transcript at least 75 years old.
“After a suitably long period, in cases of enduring historical importance, the need for continued secrecy is eventually outweighed by the public’s legitimate interest in preserving and accessing the documentary legacy of our government,” Holder writes. His letter is addressed to Judge Reena Raggi, chair of the Advisory Committee on the Criminal Rules and a judge on the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
