Doe v. Bell
Opinion of the Court
*969Plaintiff Grand Juror Doe (Juror)
Background
Plaintiff Juror began serving as a grand juror for the Circuit Court of St. Louis County on May 7, 2014. That grand jury's term of service was originally set to expire on September 10, 2014. On August 9, 2014, while on duty as a police officer for the City of Ferguson, Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. Robert McCulloch, the Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County at the time, presented the matter to the grand jury to decide whether there was probable cause to believe Officer Wilson violated any Missouri state criminal laws in the death of Mr. Brown. The St. Louis County Circuit Court extended the term of the grand jury from September 10, 2014 to January 7, 2015 to allow the grand jury to consider the Wilson matter.
The Prosecuting Attorney's staff presented evidence regarding the case to the grand jury over a several week period. On November 24, 2014, upon completion of their investigation of the Wilson matter, the grand jury returned a "no true bill" declining to indict Officer Wilson. During his announcement of the grand jury's decision, McCulloch made public statements at a press conference about the jury's investigation and its decision not to issue an indictment. McCulloch also released evidence presented to the grand jury, including transcripts, reports, interviews, and forensic evidence. However, the transcripts and documents were redacted in a manner to keep secret the identities of the grand jurors, witnesses, and other persons connected to the investigation. In addition, McCulloch did not release the votes or deliberations of the grand jury.
Plaintiff Juror's complaint alleges that, from her perspective, the Prosecuting Attorney's presentation of the evidence in the Wilson matter to the grand jury was markedly different from "hundreds of matters presented to the grand jury earlier in its term." Juror alleges that the "State's counsel" to the grand jury "differed markedly and in significant ways from the State's counsel" in hundreds of previous matters; the investigation had a stronger emphasis on the victim than in other cases; and, the "presentation of the law to which the grand jurors were to apply the facts was made in a muddled and untimely manner."
Juror alleges that McCulloch's statements at the press conference "characterizes the views of the grand jury collectively toward the evidence, witnesses, and the law, in a manner that does not comport with [Juror's] own opinions."
Juror now wants to speak out about her experience as a grand juror and to express opinions about the evidence and the investigation in the Wilson matter in particular, and about other grand jury cases generally for the purpose of comparison. Juror wants to comment on whether McCulloch's release of records and statements at the press conference accurately reflected the grand jurors' views of the evidence and *970witnesses in the Wilson matter. Juror also wants to express the view that the evidence and law were presented differently in the Wilson matter than Juror had experienced in other cases presented to the grand jury. Juror asserts that her motivation behind these proposed disclosures is to "aid in educating the public about how grand juries function" and to use Juror's "own experiences to advocate for legislative change to the way grand juries are conducted in Missouri."
Juror alleges that four State of Missouri statutes have a "chilling effect" which imposes a limitation on her speech. The statutes cited by Juror are Missouri Revised Statutes sections 540.080, 540.120, 540.310, and 540.320. Juror seeks a declaratory judgment that "Missouri laws criminalizing speech by [Juror], about [Juror's] experiences as a state grand juror for the investigation of the [Wilson matter], are unconstitutional as applied." Juror asserts that her free speech rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution override the oath of secrecy she took as a grand juror, and, as a result, void any Missouri state statute which would criminalize Juror's proposed speech regarding the grand jury's proceedings.
The Prosecuting Attorney moved to dismiss the complaint on several grounds, including the doctrine of abstention. I granted the motion to abstain to allow Juror to seek relief in state court on state law grounds to avoid the necessity of ruling her federal First Amendment claim.
Juror subsequently filed a lawsuit in the St. Louis County Circuit Court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief which the circuit court denied. [Doc. # 8, Ex. A, Grand Juror Doe v. McCulloch, No. 15SL-CC01891,
In her state court petition Juror asserted that her speech regarding her experiences and opinions about her grand jury service was chilled by three Missouri statutes.
Because the basis of Juror's claims in her petition was the "chilling effect" on her speech imposed by Missouri law, the circuit *972court addressed her claim as a violation of the free speech guarantee of Article I, § 8 of the Missouri Constitution. The circuit court also considered this claim in light of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution because Article 1, § 8 has been found to be comparable to the First Amendment. [Id. at 11] In its free speech analysis, the circuit court stated that the grand jury system was "deeply rooted in federal and state courts [ ] and that the First Amendment has never been found to permit grand jurors to disclose information learned in the course of their grand jury service." [Id. at 12]. The circuit court noted that "grand jury secrecy is intended to protect the public welfare." [Id. at 10]. The circuit court found that Juror's grounds for relief did not fall under a statutory exception that allows the disclosure of grand jury materials when required by the public interest or in the protection of private rights.
The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's decision. [Doc. # 89, Ex. B. Grand Juror Doe v. McCulloch,
At the conclusion of the state court litigation, Juror returned to this Court and sought to reopen her case for the resolution of her First Amendment claim. The Prosecuting Attorney argued that this case should not be reopened because the state courts appropriately reached the First Amendment issue and that their rulings should be given preclusive effect under the Full Faith and Credit Clause,
Subsequently, the Prosecuting Attorney filed an amended motion to dismiss. The Prosecuting Attorney moves to dismiss based on: (1) the preclusive effect of the state courts' proceedings; (2) lack of Juror's standing to sue for relief; (3) Juror's claim is not ripe; (4) sovereign immunity; and (5) failure to state a right under the First Amendment.
Full Faith and Credit
I have already rejected the assertion that Juror's First Amendment claim is precluded in my ruling of Juror's motion to reopen. See Grand Juror Doe v. McCulloch, 4:15 CV 6 RWS (Doc. # 67 filed April 16, 2018). Juror preserved her England motion and, as a result, the state courts' proceedings do not preclude her First Amendment claim in this Court.
Standing
The Prosecuting Attorney argues that Juror does not have standing to assert her First Amendment claim. A plaintiff establishes Article III standing by showing *973that: (1) she has suffered an injury in fact that is actual or imminent; (2) the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant and not the result of some independent action of a third party not before the court; and (3) it is likely that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
The Prosecuting Attorney also argues that Juror does not have standing to seek injunctive relief for her First Amendment claim challenging the enforcement of § 540.320 (the disclosure of evidence and witness names revealed during the grand jury proceeding). This statute does make its violation a class A misdemeanor which is enforced by Prosecuting Attorney. To establish standing "a party need not expose himself to actual arrest or prosecution to be entitled to challenge a statute that he claims deters the exercise of his constitutional rights [but] he must show that his injury is more than imaginary or speculative. Missouri Roundtable for Life v. Carnahan,
Ripeness
The Prosecuting Attorney asserts that Juror's claim under for injunctive relief is not ripe. In assessing ripeness, a court focuses on whether a case involves "contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all," Missouri Roundtable for Life,
Eleventh Amendment
The Prosecuting Attorney asserts that Juror's claims are barred by the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Eleventh Amendment bars suits in federal court against a state by its own citizens. Board of Trustees of University of Alabama v. Garrett,
The Prosecuting Attorney argues a county prosecutor is acting as an officer of the state when conducting criminal prosecutions of state law. State ex rel. Jackson Cty. Prosecuting Attorney v. Prokes,
Juror counters that the Prosecuting Attorney is an employee of St. Louis County, a municipality, and cannot invoke Eleventh Amendment immunity. Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman,
First Amendment Claim
Juror seeks a declaratory judgment that Missouri laws criminalizing *975her speech about her experience as a state grand juror are unconstitutional as applied to Juror. She moves to enjoin the Prosecuting Attorney from enforcing those laws. Juror argues that the threat she may be prosecuted for revealing information she obtained while serving as a grand juror imposes an unconstitutional burden on her free speech rights under the First Amendment.
The First Amendment, applicable to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibits the enactment of "laws abridging the freedom of speech." U.S. Const., Amdt. 1. Under that Clause, a government, including a municipal government vested with state authority, has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content. Content-based laws-those that target speech based on its communicative content-are presumptively unconstitutional and may be justified only if the government proves that they are narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests.
Government regulation of speech is content based if a law applies to particular speech because of the topic discussed or the idea or message expressed. This commonsense meaning of the phrase "content based" requires a court to consider whether a regulation of speech "on its face" draws distinctions based on the message a speaker conveys.
Reed v. Town of Gilbert, Ariz., --- U.S. ----,
On the one hand, conducting grand jury proceedings in secret is a longstanding and important tradition in the American criminal justice system. On the other hand, free speech is a fundamental right expressly preserved by the First Amendment. As fundamental a right as free speech is, however, it is not unlimited and unqualified. The United States Supreme Court has observed that "[t]he societal value of speech must, on occasion, be subordinated to other values and considerations." Dennis v. United States,
The tradition of grand jury secrecy
The use of grand juries has been a part of American law since the founding of our country. The United States Supreme Court has noted that:
The grand jury has always occupied a high place as an instrument of justice in our system of criminal law-so much so that it is enshrined in the Constitution. It serves the dual function of determining if there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and of protecting citizens against unfounded criminal prosecutions. It has always been extended extraordinary powers of *976investigation and great responsibility for directing its own efforts...
These broad powers are necessary to permit the grand jury to carry out both parts of its dual function. Without thorough and effective investigation, the grand jury would be unable either to ferret out crimes deserving of prosecution, or to screen out charges not warranting prosecution.
The same concern for the grand jury's dual function underlies the long-established policy that maintains the secrecy of the grand jury proceedings in the federal courts ...
Grand jury secrecy , then, is as important for the protection of the innocent as for the pursuit of the guilty. Both Congress and this Court have consistently stood ready to defend it against unwarranted intrusion. In the absence of a clear indication in a statute or Rule, we must always be reluctant to conclude that a breach of this secrecy has been authorized.
United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc.,
The United States Supreme Court has also recognized that the secrecy of grand jury proceedings serves as an important governmental interest.
We consistently have recognized that the proper functioning of our grand jury system depends upon the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. In particular, we have noted several distinct interests served by safeguarding the confidentiality of grand jury proceedings. First, if preindictment proceedings were made public, many prospective witnesses would be hesitant to come forward voluntarily, knowing that those against whom they testify would be aware of that testimony. Moreover, witnesses who appeared before the grand jury would be less likely to testify fully and frankly, as they would be open to retribution as well as to inducements. There also would be the risk that those about to be indicted would flee, or would try to influence individual grand jurors to vote against indictment. Finally, by preserving the secrecy of the proceedings, we assure that persons who are accused but exonerated by the grand jury will not be held up to public ridicule."
Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stops Northwest,
As the Court in Douglas confirmed, it is well established that there are compelling state interests in favor of preserving the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. However, grand juries are also expected to "operate within the limits of the First Amendment, as well as other provisions of the Constitution." Butterworth,
Juror cites to the Butterworth case in her complaint and relies on it in her opposition to the motion to dismiss. However, the free speech rights at issue in this case are very different than those in Butterworth. In that case a grand jury was investigating alleged improprieties committed by county officials in Florida. A newspaper reporter had obtained information about the alleged improprieties while writing a series of newspaper articles. The reporter was called to testify before the grand jury. After the grand jury investigation was terminated, the reporter wanted to publish a news story and possibly a book about the subject matter of the investigation which would include his own testimony before the grand jury.
Unlike the grand juror witness in Butterworth, the speech Juror wants to disseminate is not limited to information Juror possessed before her grand jury service. Juror wants to speak out about her experience as a grand juror. She wants to express her opinions about the evidence and the investigation in the Wilson matter in particular and about hundreds of other grand jury cases generally for the purpose of comparison. Juror seeks to comment on whether McCulloch's release of records and statements at the press conference accurately reflected the grand jurors' views of the evidence and witnesses in the Wilson matter. Juror also wants to express the view that the evidence and law were presented differently in the Wilson matter than Juror had experienced in other matters presented to the grand jury. Juror asserts that her motivation behind these proposed disclosures is to "aid in educating the public about how grand juries function" and to use Juror's "own experiences to advocate for legislative change to the way grand juries are conducted in Missouri."
Allowing Juror to reveal the information she gained during her grand jury service would be undermine the proper functioning of the Missouri grand jury system which depends upon the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. If Juror is allowed to reveal the votes or opinions expressed by other grand jurors in the Wilson matter, her views may be subject to debate. Other grand jurors on the Wilson panel may disagree with Juror's representations. They would be forced into a dilemma between revealing their identity to publically challenge Juror's representations or to remain anonymous (as they were promised) and let Juror's unfounded representations go unchallenged. Juror's request is not limited to the Wilson matter. She may reveal the votes and opinions of her fellow grand jurors in hundreds of other matters in order to make a comparison to the Wilson matter. Juror also seeks to disclose the evidence, and how it was presented, in the Wilson matter in comparison to the other matters presented to the grand jury.
Moreover, Juror does not set any limit to her request. She would be free to reveal the names of the other grand jurors on her panel and the names of witnesses not only from Wilson matter but from hundreds of other grand jury matters. The revelation of witness names and the identity of the grand jury members may subject these citizens to the very dangers the tradition *978of secrecy is in place to prevent. If the names of witnesses and grand jurors are allowed to be revealed after the grand jury's term is complete, many witnesses would be hesitant to testify candidly and jurors would be reluctant to deliberate openly for fear of retribution by the targets of the investigation or by the public at large.
Juror may also reveal the names of people who were not indicted which defeats a fundamental reason for the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. All of these concerns impose on the rights of those involved in grand jury proceedings and can be can be protected by maintaining the secrecy of the proceedings.
Grand jurors take an oath as members of the grand jury to keep grand jury proceedings secret
All grand jury members take an oath of secrecy regarding their service on a grand jury. That oath is found in section 540.080 R.S.Mo. which states:
Grand jurors may be sworn in the following form:
"Do you solemnly swear you will diligently inquire and true presentment make, according to your charge, of all offenses against the laws of the state committed or triable in this county of which you have or can obtain legal evidence; the counsel of your state, your fellows and your own, you shall truly keep secret? You further swear that you will present no one for any hatred, malice or ill will; neither will you leave unpresented any one for love, fear, favor or affection, or for any reward or the hope or promise thereof, but that you will present things truly as they come to your knowledge, to the best of your understanding, according to the laws of this state, so help you God."
A St. Louis County Circuit judge required the grand jurors in this case to take the oath twice - both at the beginning of their service and again when the grand jury's term was extended.
Juror freely undertook this oath to keep the information she gained as a grand juror secret. By taking this oath she agreed to surrender her First Amendment right to reveal the details of her grand jury service. Juror can keep her oath and still pursue her goal to educate the public about how grand juries function and to advocate for legislative change to the way grand juries are conducted in Missouri.
Conclusion
The evidence presented to a grand jury, the witness names, the grand juror names, and the way a prosecutor presents her evidence are all types of information that are obtained as a result of a grand juror's participation in the proceedings of the grand jury. The balancing of Juror's desire to reveal this information and Missouri's interest in preserving the confidentiality of its grand jury proceedings weighs in favor of Missouri's interest. Missouri has a compelling governmental interest in keeping this information secret. The imposition of secrecy is narrowly tailored to serve Missouri's compelling interest in the confidentiality of its grand jury proceedings.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Prosecuting Attorney's motion to dismiss [79] is GRANTED .
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff Grand Juror Doe's motion for referral to mediation [91] is DENIED .
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff Grand Juror Doe's motion to substitute Wesley J. C. Bell for Defendant Robert P. McCulloch in his official capacity *979as Prosecution Attorney for St. Louis County [93] is GRANTED .
Plaintiff in this matter has been given permission to proceed under an alias in order to preserve anonymity. I will refer to Juror by the pronouns she and her although whether Juror is male or female is not known.
Burford v. Sun Oil Co.,
That section states that:
No grand juror shall disclose any evidence given before the grand jury, nor the name of any witness who appeared before them, except when lawfully required to testify as a witness in relation thereto; nor shall he disclose the fact of any indictment having been found against any person for a felony, not in actual confinement, until the defendant shall have been arrested thereon. Any juror violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
§ 540.320 R.S.Mo.
Juror did not challenge § 540.120 R.S. Mo. in her state court petition.
This statue provides the oath taken by grand jurors as follows:
Grand jurors may be sworn in the following form:
Do you solemnly swear you will diligently inquire and true presentment make, according to your charge, of all offenses against the laws of the state committed or triable in this county of which you have or can obtain legal evidence; the counsel of your state, your fellows and your own, you shall truly keep secret? You further swear that you will present no one for any hatred, malice or ill will; neither will you leave unpresented any one for love, fear, favor or affection, or for any reward or the hope or promise thereof, but that you will present things truly as they come to your knowledge, to the best of your understanding, according to the laws of this state, so help you God.
§ 540.080 R.S.Mo.
This statute provides:
No member of a grand jury shall be obliged or allowed to testify or declare in what manner he or any other member of the grand jury voted on any question before them, or what opinions were expressed by any juror in relation to any such question.
§ 540.310 R.S.Mo.
One exception is found in § 540.300 R.S.Mo :
Members of the grand jury may be required by any court to testify whether the testimony of a witness examined before such jury is consistent with or different from the evidence given by such witness before such court. They may also be required to disclose the testimony given before them by any person, upon a complaint against such person for perjury, or upon his trial for such offense.
See § 540.300 R.S.Mo. supra.
In my first order dismissing this matter [Doc # 44] I opined that a grand juror's oath of secrecy is not a prohibition of speech based on content. Upon further reflection, Missouri's statute § 540.320 is based on content.
The witness had also sought to divulge his "experience" before the grand jury. The Court declined to address this undefined request because the lower court's holding was limited to the issue of "testimony before the grand jury". Butterworth,
On May 7, 2014 and on September 10, 2014.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Grand Juror DOE v. Wesely J. C. BELL, in his official capacity as Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published