Author: Congressional Research Service Publisher: Independently Published ISBN: 9781794510456 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 54
Book Description
Traditionally, the grand jury has conducted its work in secret. Secrecy prevents those under scrutiny from fleeing or importuning the grand jurors, encourages full disclosure by witnesses, and protects the innocent from unwarranted prosecution, among other things. The long-established rule of grand jury secrecy is enshrined in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), which provides that government attorneys and the jurors themselves, among others, ﷿must not disclose a matter occurring before the grand jury.﷿Accordingly, as a general matter, persons and entities external to the grand jury process are precluded from obtaining transcripts of grand jury testimony or other documents or information that would reveal what took place in the proceedings, even if the grand jury has concluded its work and even if the information is sought pursuant to otherwise-valid legal processes. At times, the rule of grand jury secrecy has come into tension with Congress' power of inquiry when an arm of the legislative branch has sought protected materials pursuant to its oversight function. For instance, some courts have determined that the information barrier established in Rule 6(e) extends to congressional inquiries, observing that the Rule contains no reservations for congressional access to grand jury materials that would otherwise remain secret. Nevertheless, the rule of grand jury secrecy is subject to a number of exceptions, both codified and judicially crafted, that permit grand jury information to be disclosed in certain circumstances (usually only with prior judicial authorization). Perhaps the most significant of these for congressional purposes are (1) the exception that allows a court to authorize disclosure of grand jury matters ﷿preliminarily to or in connection with a judicial proceeding,﷿ and (2) the exception, recognized by a few courts, that allows a court to authorize disclosure of grand jury matters in special or exceptional circumstances. In turn, some courts have determined that one or both of these exceptions applies to congressional requests for grand jury materials in the context of impeachment proceedings, though there is authority to the contrary. Additionally, because Rule 6(e) covers only ﷿matters occurring before the grand jury, courts have recognized that documents and information are not independently insulated from disclosure merely because they happen to have been presented to, or considered by, a grand jury. As such, even if Rule 6(e) generally limits congressional access to grand jury information, Congress has a number of tools at its disposal to seek materials connected to a grand jury investigation. Prior Congresses have considered legislation that would have expressly permitted a court to authorize disclosure of grand jury matters to congressional committees on a showing of substantial need. However, in response to such proposals, the executive branch has voiced concerns that the legislation would raise due-process and separation-of-powers issues and potentially undermine the proper functioning of federal grand juries. These concerns may have resulted in Congress declining to alter Rule 6(e). As a result, to the extent Rule 6(e) constrains Congress' ability to conduct oversight, legislation seeking to amend the rules governing grand jury secrecy in a way that would give Congress independent access to grand jury materials may raise additional legal and pragmatic issues for the legislative branch to consider.
Author: Charles Doyle Publisher: DIANE Publishing ISBN: 1437938086 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 56
Book Description
The federal grand jury exists to investigate crimes against the U.S. and to secure the constitutional right of grand jury indictment. Its responsibilities require broad powers. It is an arm of the U.S. District Court which summons it, upon whose process it relies, and which will receive any indictments it returns. Contents of this report: Introduction; Background; Organizational Matters; Jurisdiction; Selection; Tenure; Proceedings Before the Grand Jury; Grand Jury and the Prosecutor; Subpoenas: Common Law Privileges; Constitutional Privileges; Statutory and Other Limitations of Grand Jury Subpoena Authority; Secrecy: Disclosure; Enforcement of Grand Jury Secrecy; Final Grand Jury Action; Indictment; Refusal to Indict; Reports; Discharge.
Author: Paul S. Diamond Publisher: Aspen Publishers ISBN: Category : Grand jury Languages : en Pages : 722
Book Description
This guide reveals the inner workings of the federal grand jury, providing you with the most definitive guidance available. It contains an extensive practical discussion & analysis of the Justice Department's FEDERAL GRAND JURY PRACTICE MANUAL. In one volume, the entire grand jury process is covered, including: grand jury's investigative power Judiciary's supervisory authority over the grand jury Prosecutorial misconduct before the grand jury The grand jury's contempt powers The grand jury's power to punish for perjury & the obstruction of justice Grand jury administration Constitutional & common law privileges before the grand jury Subject-target procedures before the grand jury Immunity privileges Grand jury secrecy requirements And grand jury practice in all circuits.
Author: Lyn Farrel Publisher: Nova Publishers ISBN: 9781590332283 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 94
Book Description
The recent debate over civil trials or military tribunals for suspected terrorists has focused public attention on the American court system. A cornerstone aspect to the federal courts is the grand jury, which investigates crimes against the United States and secures the constitutional right of grand jury indictment, two responsibilities needing broad powers. A US District Court summons a grand jury, so the jury's jurisdiction is geographically restricted by the court to which it is attached. The grand jury conducts its business in secret, but that independence does not often result in the dismissal of indictments. Although witnesses subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury are not often excused, they do benefit from several legal rights when testifying. This book presents a broad overview of the rules and background of the federal grand jury, a needed service for anyone wishing to understand the American system of justice and its potential use in the war on terror.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on the Constitution Publisher: ISBN: Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 56
Author: Adam B. Cox Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0190694386 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 361
Book Description
Who controls American immigration policy? The biggest immigration controversies of the last decade have all involved policies produced by the President policies such as President Obama's decision to protect Dreamers from deportation and President Trump's proclamation banning immigrants from several majority-Muslim nations. While critics of these policies have been separated by a vast ideological chasm, their broadsides have embodied the same widely shared belief: that Congress, not the President, ought to dictate who may come to the United States and who will be forced to leave. This belief is a myth. In The President and Immigration Law, Adam B. Cox and Cristina M. Rodríguez chronicle the untold story of how, over the course of two centuries, the President became our immigration policymaker-in-chief. Diving deep into the history of American immigration policy from founding-era disputes over deporting sympathizers with France to contemporary debates about asylum-seekers at the Southern border they show how migration crises, real or imagined, have empowered presidents. Far more importantly, they also uncover how the Executive's ordinary power to decide when to enforce the law, and against whom, has become an extraordinarily powerful vehicle for making immigration policy. This pathbreaking account helps us understand how the United States ?has come to run an enormous shadow immigration system-one in which nearly half of all noncitizens in the country are living in violation of the law. It also provides a blueprint for reform, one that accepts rather than laments the role the President plays in shaping the national community, while also outlining strategies to curb the abuse of law enforcement authority in immigration and beyond.
Author: United States. Department of Justice. Privacy and Civil Liberties Office Publisher: ISBN: Category : Government publications Languages : en Pages : 276
Book Description
The "Overview of the Privacy Act of 1974," prepared by the Department of Justice's Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties (OPCL), is a discussion of the Privacy Act's disclosure prohibition, its access and amendment provisions, and its agency recordkeeping requirements. Tracking the provisions of the Act itself, the Overview provides reference to, and legal analysis of, court decisions interpreting the Act's provisions.
Author: Congressional Research Service
Author: Foster
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary
Author: Charles Doyle
Author: Paul S. Diamond
Author: Lyn Farrel
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on the Constitution
Author: United States. Department of Justice
Author: Adam B. Cox
Author: United States. Department of Justice. Privacy and Civil Liberties Office