Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2023

In Re: Application to Convene Multicounty IGJ

In Re: Application to Convene Multicounty IGJ
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · Decided January 13, 2023 · Per Curiam

In Re: Application to Convene Multicounty IGJ

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA WESTERN DISTRICT IN RE: APPLICATION OF JOSH SHAPIRO, : No. 1WM 2023 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, REQUESTING AN ORDER DIRECTING THAT A SUCCESSOR MULTICOUNTY INVESTIGATING GRAND JURY HAVING STATEWIDE JURISDICTION BE CONVENED ORDER

AND NOW, this 13'" day of January, 2023, upon consideration of the Application for an Order Directing that a Successor Multicounty Investigating Grand Jury Having Statewide Jurisdiction be Convened, and as it appears that granting the Application is appropriate under the Investigating Grand Jury Act, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 4541 ef seq., it is hereby ORDERED as follows: 1. The Application, requesting that an additional multicounty investigating grand jury having statewide jurisdiction (“Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury”) be convened, is hereby GRANTED.

2. The Honorable Anthony M. Mariani, Fifth Judicial District, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is hereby designated as Supervising Judge of the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury. All applications and motions relating to the work of the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury — including motions for disclosure of grand jury transcripts and evidence — shall be presented to the Supervising Judge. With respect to investigations, presentments, reports, and all other proper activities of the Fifty- First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, Judge Mariani, as Supervising Judge, shall have jurisdiction over all counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Judge Mariani may temporarily designate another jurist who has been appointed by this Court as the Supervising Judge of a multicounty investigating grand jury having statewide jurisdiction to serve as Acting Supervising Judge of the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury when Judge Mariani is absent or otherwise unavailable.

3. Allegheny County is designated as the location for the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury proceedings.

4. The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania is directed to draw six counties at random from the Western District of Pennsylvania pursuant to the provisions of Rule 241 (A)(1) and 241(C)(4) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, and these six counties, plus Allegheny, shall together supply jurors for the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury.

5. The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania is directed to obtain the names and addresses of persons residing in the aforesaid counties who are eligible by law to serve as grand jurors pursuant to the provisions of Rule 241(A)(2) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.

6. The total of such names of prospective jurors to be collected shall be 200, of which 50 shall be selected at random and summoned by the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania to Allegheny County. The Supervising Judge shall impanel the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury from this panel of 50 prospective jurors. If it becomes necessary, additional prospective jurors shall be summoned by the Supervising Judge from among the remaining 150 prospective jurors. [1 WM 2023] - 2 7. The Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury will remain in session for not more than 18 months following the date that it is impaneled by the Supervising Judge.

8. The Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or the Attorney General's designee in charge of the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, if necessary, may apply to the Supervising Judge for an extension of the term of the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury for an additional period of up to six months, if, at the end of its original term, the Investigating Grand Jury determines by majority vote that it has not completed its business. The Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury’s term, including any extension thereof, shall not exceed 24 months from the date it was originally impaneled by the Supervising Judge.

9, The Supervising Judge shall maintain control of transcripts and evidence, as provided by Rule 229 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Supervising Judge shall determine the manner and location with respect to storage of transcripts. The Supervising Judge shall control disclosure of matters occurring before the Fifty-First Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, as provided by 42 Pa.C.S. § 4549.

10. The Supervising Judge shall have the same duties and powers relating to maintaining grand jury secrecy with respect to each expired multicounty investigating grand jury having statewide jurisdiction that had convened in Allegheny County or any other county identified in Rule 241(C)(4) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. bile, Tedd DEBRATODD Chief Justice of Pennsylvania [1 WM 2023] - 3

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.