Grand Jury Practice

The Alaska Supreme Court held that a state prosecutor must inform a grand jury that the person facing indictment has made a clear and unequivocal desire to testify before it. The grand jury can then decide whether to call the person as a witness. In the case at issue, the defendant had made such a request and the grand jury had “evinced a strong desire to hear from [the defendant] about his state of mind.” The prosecutor did not fulfill the role of legal advisor to the grand jury in failing to apprise the grand jury of the defendant’s request. (Mike Frisch)