Opinion
Criminal Case No. 12-cr-00133-REB
05-08-2012
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. 1. REGINALD T. BROWN, Defendant.
Judge Robert E. Blackburn
ORDER
Blackburn, J.
The matter is before me on defendant's Motion For Disclosure of Grand Jury Testimony [#15] filed April 12, 2012. I deny the motion.
The motion was docketed as an "amended" motion; however the motion was not captioned as an amended motion.
"[#15]" is an example of the convention I use to identify the docket number assigned to a specific paper by the court's electronic case filing and management system (CM/ECF). I use this convention throughout this order.
This order also resolves the Motion for Disclosure of Grand Jury Testimony [#14] filed on April 11, 2012, which motion was supplanted by the motion [#15] now before the court.
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Mr. Brown requests the entry of an order granting him a transcript of all testimony presented to the grand jury. See Motion at 1. Mr. Brown claims that these transcripts are necessary for three general reasons: (1) to impeach witnesses at trial; (2) to prepare for motions hearings and trial; and (3) to identify the statements allegedly made by Mr. Brown to law enforcement. See id. at ¶¶ 1, 2, and 3.
However, no particularized need or compelling necessity is offered here; therefore, the defendant fails to carry his burden to warrant disclosure of secret grand jury proceedings. Disclosure of grand jury materials is appropriate only in those cases where the defendant's need for the otherwise secret information outweighs the public interest in secrecy. Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stop Northwest, et al., 441 U.S. 211, 223 (1979). The burden for production rests on the party seeking disclosure, id., and the showing of need for the grand jury materials must be made with particularity. Id. Mr. Brown has not pleaded or made the particularized showing necessary to pierce the veil of secrecy necessary to sustain grand jury proceedings. Thus, the motion must be denied.
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that defendant's Motion For Disclosure of Grand Jury Testimony [#15] filed April 12, 2012, is DENIED.
Dated May 8, 2012, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:
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Robert E. Blackburn
United States District Judge