O.C. to unseal grand jury materials by April 7
Some security data and personnel files involving a 2006 jail killing will be exempt.
Transcripts from a grand jury investigation into the beating death of a jail inmate are scheduled to be unsealed no later than April 7 under the orders of an Orange County judge who found the Sheriff's Department had no legal standing to block their release.
In finalizing a preliminary ruling reached earlier this week, Superior Court Judge James A. Stotler also ordered the unsealing of nearly every exhibit presented to the grand jury during the investigation into the October 2006 killing of John Chamberlain.
Stotler did agree, at the request of county lawyers representing the Sheriff's Department, to redact a limited amount of information on some of the exhibits to protect jail security measures. He also said the personnel files of five deputies would be kept confidential.
Records in a separate but related case were made available Wednesday after Stotler's ruling. They showed that at least two of the three deputies at the center of the jail beating controversy were granted immunity from prosecution before testifying.
"The judge said on the record that his goal was to maximize public access to these proceedings and documents within the bounds of the law," said attorney Al Wickers, who argued for full access on behalf of The Times and Orange County Register.
Stotler ordered that the materials be made available in a computer format to make it more manageable, searchable and less expensive to the public.
christine.hanley@latimes.com
