1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to grand juries; authorizing limited disclosure by the court of verbatim 
1.3 	grand jury record in the interests of justice; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, 
1.4 	section 628.68.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 628.68, is amended to read:
1.7 	628.68 DISCLOSURE OF TRANSACTIONS OF GRAND JURY.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Disclosure prohibited. Except as otherwise provided in rule  18.08
1.9 	of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, every judge, grand juror, county attorney, court 
1.10 	administrator, or other officer, who, except in the due discharge of official duty, shall 
1.11 	disclose, before an accused person shall be in custody, the fact that an indictment found 
1.12 	or ordered against the accused person, and every grand juror who, except when lawfully 
1.13 	required by a court or officer, shall willfully disclose any evidence adduced before the 
1.14 	grand jury, or anything which the juror or any other member of the grand jury said, or 
1.15 	in what manner any grand juror voted upon any matter before them, shall be guilty of a 
1.16 	misdemeanor. Disclosure may be made by the county attorney, by notice to the defendant 
1.17 	or the defendant's attorney of the indictment and the time of defendant's appearance in 
1.18 	the district court, if in the discretion of the judge notice is sufficient to insure defendant's 
1.19 	appearance.
1.20 		Subd. 2.Limited disclosure; hearing (a) Notwithstanding subdivision 1, rule 18.05 
1.21 	of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, or rule 4 of the Rules of Public Access to Records of 
1.22 	the judicial branch, a verbatim record of a grand jury proceeding may be disclosed for 
1.23 	limited purposes as specified in paragraphs (b) to (f).
2.1 	(b) The court, upon petition of an interested party, may hold a hearing to determine 
2.2 	if it would be in the best interests of justice for ordering limited disclosure of a verbatim 
2.3 	grand jury record.
2.4 	(c) If a petition is filed under paragraph (b), the court must consider and evaluate all 
2.5 	relevant factors in determining the best interests of justice in disclosing a verbatim grand 
2.6 	jury record including, but not limited to, the following factors:
2.7 	(1) whether factors in the petitioners' case for limited disclosure in the best interests 
2.8 	of justice are outweighed by any or all of the following concerns for protecting grand 
2.9 	jury secrecy:
2.10 	(i) protection of jurors to protect the investigatory function;
2.11 	(ii) jurors' deliberations should not be restricted by the apprehension that persons 
2.12 	subject to indictment may be given the opportunity to importune the jurors;
2.13 	(iii) that witnesses who have information are not discouraged from giving testimony 
2.14 	free of tampering;
2.15 	(iv) innocent suspects who are exonerated are afforded protection against disclosure 
2.16 	of the fact that the suspect has been groundlessly accused; or
2.17 	(v) prosecuting authorities are protected against the risk that a person indicted might 
2.18 	flee the jurisdiction before the person's apprehension;
2.19 	(2) whether limited disclosure of a verbatim grand jury record would tend to bring 
2.20 	closure to a victim or a victim's family; and
2.21 	(3) whether the lapse of time has eroded any of the factors specified in clause (1).
2.22 	(d) The petitioner has the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence 
2.23 	that limited disclosure of a grand jury verbatim record would be in the best interests 
2.24 	of justice.
2.25 	(e) The court shall make detailed findings on each of the factors put forward by the 
2.26 	petitioner for allowing limited disclosure and explain how the factors led to its conclusions 
2.27 	and to the determination of whether the court would be in the interests of justice to allow 
2.28 	limited disclosure.
2.29 	(f) If the court authorizes limited disclosure under paragraph (e), the court in its 
2.30 	order shall limit the consequences of disclosure insofar as practical, and contain necessary 
2.31 	protective measures to ensure the integrity of the grand jury process.

2.32 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.