Reps propose bipartisan legislation to protect grand jury jurors’ identities

Ohio State Reps. Mike Odioso, R-Ohio, and Dontavius L. Jarrells, D-Columbus, have introduced legislation designed to safeguard the identities of Ohioans serving on grand juries and uphold the integrity of the judicial process.

The Grand Jury Privacy and Protection Act is a direct response to the Ohio Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in State ex rel. Culgan v. Jefferson County Clerk of Courts, which ruled that grand juror names must be available to the public. This decision raised concerns about juror safety, privacy and independence, according to a news release.

“For the foregoing reasons, we grant a writ of mandamus ordering the clerk to provide copies of the Jefferson County grand-jury reports requested by [Clifford J.] Culgan without redacting the grand jurors’ names or the grand-jury foreperson’s signature,” the Ohio Supreme Court said. “We deny the writ as to Culgan’s request for fully unredacted reports, because the clerk’s redactions of case information on those reports were proper.”

The court also denied Culgan’s requests for “statutory damages and court costs and denied as moot his motion for in camera inspection.”

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justices Michael P. Donnelly and Melody J. Stewart dissented in part regarding the final decision, writing that the unredacted grand-jury reports “list the individual grand jurors by name and indicate against whom the grand jury voted to return ‘true bills’ of indictments.”

“We can presume that the required number of grand jurors listed voted in favor of indictment in those cases for which an indictment was returned. Therefore, disclosing the grand jurors’ names on the reports essentially discloses the votes of grand jurors, which Crim.R. 6(E) prohibits,” Stewart wrote. “For that reason, I would deny the writ with respect to the disclosure of the grand jurors’ names.”

“Grand jurors should be able to serve their communities without fear of retaliation or intimidation,” Jarrells said in a release. “This bill restores long-standing protections and ensures that our justice system remains fair, secure, and trusted.”

In a release, Odioso said that there are many reasons why the identities of the jurors should be protected, with one of them being the insurance of “the safety of both witnesses and the grand jury members.”

“The protection of secrecy allows participants to be candid while shielding jurors from potential intimidation, pressure, or harassment from individuals under investigation or their associates,” he said.

In addition to protecting the names of grand jurors, the Grand Jury Privacy and Protection Act would also ensure the protection of the signatures of grand-jury forepersons from disclosure.

According to the politicians, this would reaffirm “the principle of grand jury secrecy while balancing transparency and public trust.”

The legislation was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.