Bill Text: FL S0234 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Disclosure of Grand Jury Testimony
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-21 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/HB 117 [S0234 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S0234-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for SB 234 By the Committees on Rules; and Judiciary; and Senators Polsky and Martin 595-03104-24 2024234c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to disclosure of grand jury testimony; 3 amending s. 905.27, F.S.; revising the list of persons 4 prohibited from disclosing the testimony of a witness 5 examined before, or the evidence received by, a grand 6 jury; creating an exception for a request by the media 7 or an interested person to the prohibited publishing, 8 broadcasting, disclosing, divulging, or communicating 9 of any testimony of a witness examined before the 10 grand jury, or the content, gist, or import thereof; 11 providing criminal penalties; providing construction; 12 making technical changes; reenacting s. 905.17(1) and 13 (2), F.S., relating to who may be present during a 14 session of a grand jury, to incorporate the amendment 15 made to s. 905.27, F.S., in references thereto; 16 providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1. Section 905.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to 21 read: 22 905.27 Testimony not to be disclosed; exceptions.— 23 (1) Persons present or appearing during a grand jury 24 proceeding, including a grand juror, a state attorney, an 25 assistant state attorney, a reporter, a stenographer, or an 26 interpreter, as well as the custodian of a grand jury record, 27 may notor any other person appearing before the grand jury28shall notdisclose the testimony of a witness examined before 29 the grand jury or other evidence received by it except when 30 required by a court to disclose the testimony for the purpose 31 of: 32 (a) Ascertaining whether it is consistent with the 33 testimony given by the witness before the court; 34 (b) Determining whether the witness is guilty of perjury; 35 or 36 (c) Furthering justice, which can encompass furthering a 37 public interest when the disclosure is requested pursuant to 38 paragraph (2)(c). 39 (2) It is unlawful for any person knowingly to publish, 40 broadcast, disclose, divulge, or communicate to any other 41 person, or knowingly to cause or permit to be published, 42 broadcast, disclosed, divulged, or communicated to any other 43 person, in any manner whatsoever, any testimony of a witness 44 examined before the grand jury, or the content, gist, or import 45 thereof, except when such testimony is or has been disclosed in 46 any of the following circumstances:a court proceeding.47 (a) When a court orders the disclosure of such testimony 48 pursuant to subsection (1) for use in a criminal case, it may be 49 disclosed to the prosecuting attorney of the court in which such 50 criminal case is pending, and by the prosecuting attorney to his 51 or her assistants, legal associates, and employees, and to the 52 defendant and the defendant’s attorney, and by the latter to his 53 or her legal associates and employees. However, the grand jury 54 testimony afforded such persons by the court can only be used in 55 the defense or prosecution of the criminal case and for no other 56 purpose. 57 (b) When a court orders thesuchdisclosure of such 58 testimonyis ordered by a courtpursuant to subsection (1) for 59 use in a civil case, it may be disclosed to all parties to the 60 case and to their attorneys and by the latter to their legal 61 associates and employees. However, the grand jury testimony 62 afforded such persons by the court can only be used in the 63 defense or prosecution of the civilor criminalcase and for no 64 other purposewhatsoever. 65 (c) When a court orders the disclosure of such testimony 66 pursuant to subsection (1) in response to a request by the media 67 or an interested person, regardless of whether that purpose is 68 for use in a criminal or civil case, it may be disclosed so long 69 as the subject of the grand jury inquiry is deceased, the grand 70 jury inquiry is related to criminal or sexual activity between 71 the subject of the grand jury investigation and a person who was 72 a minor at the time of the alleged criminal or sexual activity, 73 the testimony was previously disclosed by a court order, and the 74 state attorney is provided notice of the request. This paragraph 75 does not limit the court’s ability to limit the disclosure of 76 testimony, including, but not limited to, redaction. 77 (3)Nothing inThis section does notshallaffect the 78 attorney-client relationship. A client hasshall havethe right 79 to communicate to his or her attorney any testimony given by the 80 client to the grand jury, any matters involving the client 81 discussed in the client’s presence before the grand jury, and 82 any evidence involving the client received by or proffered to 83 the grand jury in the client’s presence. 84 (4) A person who violatesPersons convicted of violating85 this section commitsshall be guilty ofa misdemeanor of the 86 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.083, or by fine 87 not exceeding $5,000, or both. 88 (5) A violation of this section constitutesshall89constitutecriminal contempt of court. 90 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 91 made by this act to section 905.27, Florida Statutes, in 92 references thereto, subsections (1) and (2) of section 905.17, 93 Florida Statutes, are reenacted to read: 94 905.17 Who may be present during session of grand jury.— 95 (1) No person shall be present at the sessions of the grand 96 jury except the witness under examination, one attorney 97 representing the witness for the sole purpose of advising and 98 consulting with the witness, the state attorney and her or his 99 assistant state attorneys, designated assistants as provided for 100 in s. 27.18, the court reporter or stenographer, and the 101 interpreter. The stenographic records, notes, and transcriptions 102 made by the court reporter or stenographer shall be filed with 103 the clerk who shall keep them in a sealed container not subject 104 to public inspection. The notes, records, and transcriptions are 105 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and 106 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and shall be released 107 by the clerk only on request by a grand jury for use by the 108 grand jury or on order of the court pursuant to s. 905.27. 109 (2) The witness may be represented before the grand jury by 110 one attorney. This provision is permissive only and does not 111 create a right to counsel for the grand jury witness. The 112 attorney for the witness shall not be permitted to address the 113 grand jurors, raise objections, make arguments, or otherwise 114 disrupt proceedings before the grand jury. The attorney for the 115 witness shall be permitted to advise and counsel the witness and 116 shall be subject to the provisions of s. 905.27 in the same 117 manner as all who appear before the grand jury. An attorney or 118 law firm may not represent more than one person or entity in an 119 investigation before the same grand jury or successive grand 120 juries in the same investigation. 121 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.