Can the grand jury be extended?

[Gregorian]

I read in a post last night that since it had already been extended once, it was not allowed to be extended again. I searched and could not find the thread, so I thought I'd ask. It may not even be a valid question. I know how convoluted these things can be.

[Der Blaue Engel]

1. I found a list of rules

http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/Rule6.htm

It mentions extension in the paragraph titled "Discharging the Grand Jury" but it doesn't specify whether there's a limit on how many times it can be extended.

Edited to add quote:

A grand jury must serve until the court discharges it, but it may serve more than 18 months only if the court, having determined that an extension is in the public interest, extends the grand jury's service. An extension may be granted for no more than 6 months, except as otherwise provided by statute.

[Spazito]

2. Here is a description of grand juries terms, extensions

Grand jury's term
Federal grand juries are of two types--regular and special. Regular grand juries sit for a basic term of 18 months, but that term can be extended up to another 6 months, which means their total possible term is 24 months. Special grand juries sit for 18 months, but their term can be extended for up to another 18 months; a court can extend a special grand jury's term for 6 months, and can enter up to three such extensions, totaling 18 months.

http://www.udayton.edu/~grandjur/fedj/fedj.htm#Grand%20jurys%20term

Edited to add info on regular and special grand juries:

There are two kinds of federal grand juries: Regular federal grand juries and special federal grand juries. Regular federal grand juries tend to spend their time hearing evidence and considering indictments submitted to them by a prosecutor. They spend the bulk of their time deciding, therefore, whether probable cause exists to return a set of proposed charges against the defendants names therein. Special federal grand juries were created in 1970 specifically to investigate organized crime. They, too, consider whether indictments should be returned against certain persons, but special grand juries also devote a great deal of their time to investigating possible criminal activity.

[AZBlue]

4. Is this a special or regular GJ?

[Der Blaue Engel]

5. Special Grand Jury

It appears that this grand jury is a Special Grand Jury as I've seen that term in a number of news stories on the case. Trying to find a recent one to quote, but here's one:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5033875/

[tiptoe]

7. some other (googled) cites of "Special Grand Jury" + "Fitzgerald"

Google results: "Special Grand Jury" + "Fitzgerald"


Here's one from "Results 1 - 10 of about 500":

August 2004 - Reporters challenge subpoenas

"Recently, two journalists, Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert Earlier, made headlines when they challenged subpoenas issued to them by a special grand jury investigating the leak. But Chief Judge Thomas Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled against them, based on Supreme Court precedent. And he did so even though, according to his opinion, the grand jury may "delve into alleged conversations each reporter had with a confidential source."
Russert decided to testify, with NBC issuing a statement that his limited testimony did not reveal any information "learned in confidence." But Cooper is still holding out, has been held in contempt of court, and is facing jail time - pending an appeal.
Meanwhile, on August 13, the New York Times revealed that the grand jury had also subpoenaed one of its reporters, Judith Miller. The Times has vowed to fight the subpoena; but given Chief Judge Hogan's decision, there is little doubt that it will lose at the district court level. In addition, it has been reported that Walter Pincus of the Washington Post has also been subpoenaed - and the Post, too, intends to fight the subpoena."

Source: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20040820.html

Some differences between a regular and Special Grand Jury:

...
In the Federal system, a special grand jury was begun in the 1970s as a means to deal with the problem of organized crime. The cases that were brought against the web of criminal enterprises that the mob had were so vast -- and so overwhelmed the operation of a regular grand jury -- that the special investigative grand jury was developed so that prosecutors and investigators would have a more flexible partner in bringing these criminals to justice. The jury serves as an additional investigative unit, in a sense, by bringing in witnesses who are under subpoena, placed under oath, and then subject to criminal perjury charges if found lying to the jury. This can be used as a means to pressure their testimony further against any and all co-conspirators if perjury can be proved. (Sound familiar?)

The Special Grand Jury works hand in hand with the prosecutor and the FBI or other governmental agents to investigate the whole of the case. That means all of the many tentacles that may be involved in any given large criminal enterprise or, say, an average White House Iraq Group meeting. Here's a direct quote from the ABA's website that sheds a little light on how much fear a federal grand jury can instill, even in lawyers:

"There are many occasions where a person who was issued a subpoena to appear as a witness or to produce documentation ends up becoming a "target" or "subject" of an investigation, then indicted by the same grand jury the person thought he or she was simply assisting."

Kind of puts all the spin on whether or not someone is a "target" going in to their testimony in perspective, doesn't it?
...

source: http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2005_10_02_firedoglake_archive.html

[Spazito]

10. Thanks! I had been looking for something that would specify

"special grand jury" outside of the mainstream media because their accuracy is often questionable on details such as this but I do believe findlaw would pay attention to such a detail and therefore less likely to err on that designation.

[TahitiNut]

8. Yep. Two more 6-month extensions are possible.

I would, however, expect to have already heard whether this Special Grand Jury had been extended another six months. It doesn't seem to me that's a decision that's left for the last day.

There may, however, be some technicalities regarding their charter. If this Special Grand Jury has some limitations in scope or extent of their activities, it may be appropriate to empanel a new Special Grand Jury with a differing authority.

[Der Blaue Engel]

9. I read an article last night

(somewhere on DU...sigh) that said something to the effect that Fitzgerald could secretly extend the GJ. I'm not sure if that's true, but it's interesting.

[Spazito]

11. While doing some research on Fitzgerald and whether the grand

jury in question was special or regular, I found this transcript from the DOJ announcing the appointment of Fitzgerald as special counsel and his powers are, indeed, wide ranging:

http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2003/12/doj123003.html

It makes for very interesting reading, imo!

[walkon]

3. Precedent

A federal judge has granted Whitewater Independent Counsel, Kenneth Starr, a six- month extension of the empaneled grand jury. In a motion filed Apr. 22, 1997, Starr cited "extensive evidence of possible obstruction of the administration of justice" unearthed by his investigations to date. "Empaneling a new grand jury at this time would cause unnecessary delay and would be a waste of resources," Starr argued. He also stated that additional witnesses would testify before the grand jury and further subpoenas would be forthcoming. Here is the Apr. 22 motion and the judge's order.

snip

http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/government/whitewater/extension.html

[Gregorian]

6. That was for 18 months.

It looks like this grand jury is at it's end. For what that might be worth. Perhaps it's just one facet of how it could go...


This is what I cut from the link you posted:



The Court granted the Independent Counsel's

Motion, and on May 7, 1996, this grand jury was

empaneled.


IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the term of

grand jury 96-3 be extended for a period of six

months to and including November 7,1997.

[WyLoochka]

12. According to the ABA website

American Bar Association

Frequently Asked Questions About the Grand Jury System

"For cases involving complex and long-term investigations (such as those involving organized crime, drug conspiracies or political corruption), "long term" grand juries will be impaneled. Such "long term" grand juries typically sit fewer days each week, and their terms can be extended in six month increments for up to three years."

http://www.abanet.org/media/faqjury.html

[Gregorian]

14. Good overview of how a grand jury works.

The grand jury is a weird animal.

So I can safely assume that Fitzgerald has opened an office in preparation for extending his investigation.

I'm as optimistic as one can be, given the fact that this is about a war that caused a very large number of completely needless deaths.

[TahitiNut]

15. Grand Juries are an old tradition from English Common Law, afaik.

I'm thinking it goes back to the Magna Carta ... but IANAL and haven't looked enough to cite something reliable.

[Gregorian]

16. Funny how it seems to apply. I found this paragraph-

Both sentences make me laugh. Although I wasn't laughing when Starr was doing his thing.

The original purpose of the grand jury was to act as a buffer between the king (and his prosecutors) and the citizens. Critics argue that this safeguarding role has been erased, and the grand jury simply acts as a rubber stamp for the prosecutor.

[texpatriot2004]

13. Kick it for knowledge. n.t