Bill
SB 1424
85(R) - 2017
Senate Criminal Justice
Senate Criminal Justice
Courts
Criminal Procedure
Juries
Vote Recommendation
Yes
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Neutral
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Neutral
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Neutral
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Positive
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Neutral
Author(s)
Dawn Buckingham
Bill Caption
Relating to grand jury proceedings; providing a penalty for contempt of court.
Fiscal Notes
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Bill Analysis
This bill would add a section to the code related to who may be
investigated by a grand jury. If passed, a grand jury would be prohibited from
investigating, or charging, a person who is accused or suspected of an offense
if the person had previously been investigated by a grand jury for the same
offense and that grand jury found no bill of indictment. However if at an ex parte hearing, the attorney representing the state establishes that it is in the
interest of justice that the person be investigated by a subsequent grand jury
for the same offense then the grand jury would be allowed to investigate and present
an indictment. A person who has been improperly investigated under this bill’s
provisions may motion to set aside the indictment.
In a situation where there is not an attorney representing the state available to perform their duties, this bill would authorize a judge to appoint an assistant attorney general as an attorney pro tem.
Vote Recommendation Notes
This bill would make the grand jury investigation process better suited to protect the rights of the accused. For its role in preventing grand jury shopping, thereby ensuring that government does not exceed its proper role, we support SB 1424.
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