(a) In all grand jury proceedings, the testimony taken and questions asked before the grand jury has commenced its deliberation shall be recorded stenographically, or electronically, including digital and/or analog formats. The prosecuting attorney and defendant, or his attorney, may request a copy of the electronic, analog or digital recording of the proceedings at any time after it is taken and the court shall order such record to be prepared within a reasonable time after the request is made. After preparing the electronic, analog or digital recording, the reporter shall certify it, file the original with the clerk of the court and deliver one (1) copy each to the prosecuting attorney and defendant or his attorney. (b) Grand jury transcripts and recordings are not public documents. Upon good cause shown, the court may restrict the distribution of the transcript or recording to persons who are shown to have need of them, or delay its release to a defendant if its release, or the release of any part of the transcript or recording may prevent a fair and impartial trial or could cause danger to any witness whose testimony appears within the transcript or recording or about whom a witness testifies (except a defendant). Any transcript or recording or part thereof not released by the court under this Subsection shall remain sealed until after the trial has been completed, or may be released upon earlier order of the court. No person, to whom a grand jury transcript or recording has been given, except for a witness as to his own testimony, shall release its contents to any other person except a client or, in the case of the prosecuting attorney, to any law enforcement agency. (c) The Unified Judiciary shall create appropriate rules for digital or analog formatting, storage media, security, archiving and dissemination of audio transcripts. SOURCE: Repealed/reenacted by P.L. 15-94:6, effective 01/17/80. Amended by P.L. 29-056 (Mar. 19, 2008). COURT DECISIONS: DISTRICT COURT APP. DIV. 1977. All Grand Jury proceedings are to be recorded, except the jury's deliberations, but recording during formal recess is not required if the recess is actually a hiatus in the proceeding in which jurors do not discuss the case with each other. No conversation is to be allowed between jurors and witnesses during the recess.
COL050108
No off-the-record conversation is to be allowed between jurors and prosecutor regarding the case or any legal aspect of it. All actions of the prosecutor and jurors should be susceptible to review to insure defendant and impartial, just and unbiased hearing. Adopted from Wilkie v. Superior Court, Ariz. 566 P.2d 327 (1977). People v. Garret, App. Div. D.C., Cr. #79-17A. SUPER.CT. 1982 While copies of transcripts of the Grand Jury were requested in March 1982, but not delivered until June, this fact does not provide grounds for dismissal of the indictment. People v. Sgambelluri, Cr. #14F-82. NOTE: (1978): Section 50.38 is new. The former section, prior to amendment by P.L. 15-94, § 6 was based on § 938.1 of the California Penal Code. Under former Guam law, as well as under Federal law, there was no requirement that testimony before the grand jury be recorded verbatim. However, recordation is said to be the better practice. See 8 Moore, Federal Practice &6.02[2]d at 6-17 2-6-18 [2d Ed. 1974], and under Federal law it was required in some circumstances. See id. at 6-9 citing 18 USCA § 3500. California law demands that a complete transcript be provided in every case where an indictment is returned. See generally B. Witkin, California Criminal Procedure Proceedings Before Trial § 178 [1963 Supp. 1973]. Former § 50.38 of this Title provided a similar procedure and took a long step towards placing the grand jury proceeding on an equal footing with the preliminary examination. However, practice in the Attorney General's Office and changing philosophies in that office showed that the Guam practice not only took too much time but provided more information than was necessary or desirable to criminal defendants. Therefore, the amended section provides that, while recordation must take place, the Attorney General may petition the court to withhold the transcript if it can be shown that some necessary good will be served by the withholding. Also, transcripts are specifically declared not to be public documents. This amendment moves the Guam law to a position approximately half-way between the Federal law and California law. Note that no transcript is required where an indictment is not reached, but it may be provided if useful information would be made available thereby to the prosecutor. Such information is discoverable pursuant to Chapter 70 of this Title. See also § 50.34 [c] of this Chapter.