More Categories

Section 54-47g – Finding and record of investigation. Disclosure. Hearing. Access to testimony

May 11, 2021 | Connecticut, Criminal Procedure

(a) Within sixty days of the conclusion of the investigation, the investigatory grand jury conducting such investigation shall file its finding with the court of the judicial district designated by the Chief Court Administrator pursuant to subsection (a) of section 54-47d, and shall file a copy of its finding with the panel and with the Chief State’s Attorney or a state’s attorney if such Chief State’s Attorney or state’s attorney made application for the investigation. The stenographer shall file any record of the investigation with the court of the judicial district designated by the Chief Court Administrator pursuant to subsection (a) of section 54-47d and the panel and the Chief State’s Attorney or a state’s attorney, if such Chief State’s Attorney or state’s attorney made application for the investigation, shall have access to such record upon request made to the clerk of the court without a hearing. Such finding shall state whether or not there is probable cause to believe that a crime or crimes have been committed. Except as otherwise provided in this section, any part of the record of the investigation not disclosed with the finding pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be sealed, provided any person may file an application with the panel for disclosure of any such part of the record. Upon receipt of such application, the panel shall, after notice, hold a hearing and the panel, by a majority vote, may disclose any such part of the record when such disclosure is deemed by the panel to be in the public interest, except that no part of the record shall be disclosed which contains allegations of the commission of a crime by an individual if the investigatory grand jury failed to find probable cause that such individual committed such crime unless such individual requests the release of such part of the record. Any person aggrieved by an order of the panel shall have the right to appeal such order by filing a petition for review with the Appellate Court within seventy-two hours from the issuance of such order.
(b) The finding of the investigation shall be open to public inspection and copying at the court where it has been filed seven calendar days after it has been filed, unless within that period the Chief State’s Attorney or a state’s attorney with whom the finding was filed files a motion with the investigatory grand jury requesting that a part or all of such finding not be so disclosed. The finding may include all or such part of the record as the investigatory grand jury may determine, except that no part of the record shall be disclosed which contains allegations of the commission of a crime by an individual if the investigatory grand jury failed to find probable cause that such individual committed such crime unless such individual requests the release of such part of the record. In such event as much of the finding as has not been sought to be withheld from disclosure shall be disclosed promptly upon the expiration of said seven-calendar-day period.
(c) Within fifteen calendar days of the filing of such motion, the investigatory grand jury shall conduct a hearing. The investigatory grand jury shall give written notice of such hearing to the person filing such motion and any other person the investigatory grand jury deems to be an interested party to the proceedings, which may include, but not be limited to, persons who testified or were the subject of testimony before the investigatory grand jury. Within five calendar days of the conclusion of the hearing, the investigatory grand jury shall render its decision, and shall send copies thereof to all those to whom it gave notice of the hearing. It shall deny any such motion unless it makes specific findings of fact on the record that there is a substantial probability that one of the following interests will be prejudiced by publicity that nondisclosure would prevent, and that reasonable alternatives to nondisclosure cannot adequately protect that interest:

(1) The right of a person to a fair trial;
(2) the prevention of potential defendants from fleeing;
(3) the prevention of subornation of perjury or tampering with witnesses; or
(4) the protection of the lives and reputations of innocent persons which would be significantly damaged by the release of uncorroborated information. Any order of nondisclosure shall be drawn to protect the interest so found.
(d) Any person aggrieved by an order of the investigatory grand jury shall have the right to appeal such order by filing a petition for review with the Appellate Court within seventy-two hours from issuance of such order.
(e) The Appellate Court shall provide an expedited hearing on such petition in accordance with such rules as the judges of the Appellate Court may adopt, consistent with the rights of the petitioner and the parties.
(f) Notwithstanding the existence of an order of nondisclosure under this section, any witness may apply in writing to the presiding judge of the criminal session of the court of the judicial district wherein the record of the investigation has been filed, or his designee, for access to and a copy of the record of his own testimony. Any witness shall be allowed access, at all reasonable times, to the record of his own testimony and be allowed to obtain a copy of such record unless said judge or his designee finds after a hearing and for good cause shown that it is not in the best interest of justice to allow the witness to have access to and a copy of the record of his testimony.
(g) Notwithstanding the existence of an order of nondisclosure under this section, the presiding judge of the criminal session of the court of the judicial district wherein the record of the investigation has been filed, or his designee, shall grant any written request of a person accused of a crime as a result of the investigation to have access, at all reasonable times, to the record of his own testimony and to obtain a copy of such record.

Conn. Gen. Stat. ยง 54-47g

(P.A. 85-611, S. 6; P.A. 87-350, S. 5, 6; P.A. 88-148; 88-345, S. 1, 3; P.A. 05-288, S. 185.)

Cited. 202 Conn. 541; 204 Conn. 259; 207 Conn. 98; 213 Conn. 66; 219 C. 905; 221 Conn. 625. State’s right of access to testimony of grand jury witness includes right to use that testimony in its case-in-chief in subsequent criminal prosecution of that witness; to the extent that trial court’s ruling is predicated on grand juror’s order of secrecy, it lacks support in record because defendant never established that he relied to his detriment on grand juror’s order of secrecy. 250 Conn. 188. Order and application are not part of the record of the grand jury investigation and must be sealed pursuant to Sec. 54-47e since the legislature did not vest the grand jury or panel with discretion to make public disclosure of order and application. 293 Conn. 247. Cited. 16 Conn.App. 679; 17 Conn.App. 395; 19 CA 230. Cited. 45 Conn.Supp. 1. Subsec. (a): Cited. 222 C. 331; 229 C. 178. Initial determination of “public interest” left to grand jury panel. 20 Conn.App. 447. Cited. 43 CA 851. Because prosecution has right of access under statute to record of testimony from investigatory grand jury proceedings, it could provide to defendants, without request for hearing, those categories of materials normally subject to disclosure in criminal cases, as such disclosure is very much part of prosecutorial function, although disclosure must be only for purpose of pending criminal case and any discovery ordered by trial court pursuant to defense request should be accompanied by protective order. 50 CS 23. Subsec. (c): Legislature intended for grand jury to have discretion as to whether to grant a motion to seal its report if there was a substantial probability that information in the report would prejudice a person’s right to a fair trial to a degree that is more than de minimis and that the prejudice could be prevented by nondisclosure; “reasonable alternatives” portion requires grand jury to consider alternatives to nondisclosure when the alternatives would protect the enumerated interests in the first instance, but does not require grand jury to injure an enumerated interest through disclosure and then craft remedies to cure that injury; “innocent persons” does not include persons who have been arrested as the result of grand jury’s finding of probable cause. 293 C. 464.