Constitutional Law
Apr. 10, 2019
Ruling casts legal shadow on the release of grand jury materials
A decision by the D.C. Circuit casts a legal shadow on the release of grand jury materials on the inherent authority theory.
John H. Minan
Emeritus Professor of Law
University of San Diego School of Law
Professor Minan is a former attorney with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and the former chairman of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Board.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides "No person shall be held to answer for a capital crime, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury." In order to charge a person with a serious federal crime, a federal prosecutor is required to secure the assent of a grand jury. Because matters before a grand jury are secret, a tension exists between Congress' power of oversight (Article I) and the Federal Rules of Criminal Pr...
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