SACRAMENTO — A major reform that would change the way grand juries do business in California by letting defense attorneys into the proceedings is expected to be passed by the state Legislature this year over the objections of county prosecutors.
The reform was sparked by the traumatic personal experience of Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), who was indicted on allegations of criminal campaign reporting violations in 1996.
Baugh said he wanted to tell his story to the grand jury. But, like many targets, he declined on the advice of his lawyer, who said it could be dangerous even for an innocent person to testify without counsel at his side.
After ultimately seeing his indictment thrown out by a judge, Baugh has set out to change the law to make the grand jury process more evenhanded.
"The grand jury is the only place in America where you can't take your lawyer," said Baugh. "But the state gets to have a team of lawyers in that room."
Baugh's bill to allow attorneys to accompany potential defendants into criminal grand jury sessions, but not to object or ask questions, is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee today. It is expected to land on the governor's desk by the end of summer.
A similar bill sponsored by Baugh two years ago was withdrawn amid signals that Gov. Pete Wilson planned to veto it.
Gov. Gray Davis has not weighed in yet, but if it does become law this time around, California would join 11 other states that allow attorneys to accompany their clients during criminal grand jury questioning. The federal grand jury system forbids the presence of defense lawyers.
In larger California counties, grand juries are composed of about two dozen private citizens who listen to evidence and testimony of witnesses questioned by county prosecutors who are undertaking criminal investigations or seeking indictments.
Currently, grand jury targets and witnesses can leave the room and confer with their attorneys, a process that critics say is not only cumbersome, but also can leave a bad impression with grand jurors, who may wonder why someone who is innocent needs so much legal advice. Targets who refuse to testify also risk looking bad to the jurors.
"The way it is now is almost farcical," said Jennifer Keller, a defense attorney and past president of the Orange County Bar Assn. "People run in and out of the room to talk to their lawyers. . . . There's an incredible danger someone is going to be pressured to give an answer without conferring with counsel."
