t/i& Suttaxneus £jert^jcal ([//flees ofl *% 31EDbb DEbT 7MbO M S8oa&uv, ^/isd 02408-4698 SCOTT HARSHBARGER ATTORNEYGENERAL ^ '•• / %7, (617) 727, fii Scott Harshbarger Attorney General ^Qffg^tt$ Prepared Testimony on Senate Bill Nd? 744, An Act Relative to a Statewide Gr and Jury before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary March 9, 1992 I would like to thank Chairman DiMasi and Chairman LoPresti for allowing me this opportunity to testify in support of Senate Bill Number 744, An Act Relative to a Statewide Grand Jury. This bill would provide an important tool for prosecutors and has the support of the Governor and the unanimous support of the Massachusetts District Attorneys' Association . In the 1990 's, all forms of criminal activity have become more sophisticated, more mobile, more easily and quickly communicated from one location to another, and less likely to be limited geographically to a single town, city or county within the Commonwealth. Public protection demands that law enforcement keep pace with the everchanging nature of crime. I believe that passage of the proposed statewide Grand Jury bill is a necessary element in this effort. As know you are aware, at present, Grand Juries are I convened in each of the individual counties of the Commonwealth. A Grand Jury sitting in Berkshire, or Hampden, or Barnstable County investigates and considers evidence <t^/ >-> -2- relating to alleged crimes in that particular county alone. This bill will not change the interactions between Grand Juries and the District Attorneys or the Attorney General. However, it will address a severe limitation on those Grand Juries. That limitation is the county line - a boundary that criminals do not recognize but, right now, all of our Grand Juries must. As District Attorney of Middlesex County for eight years, I saw countless examples of serious criminal conduct that occurred in our county, but also involved illicit activities in one or more other counties. It might mean that a person or group selling cocaine in our county was also selling elsewhere; or that a con artist, or dishonest businessperson was victimizing consumers in several different counties. A mechanism did not, and does not currently exist, that enables the Commonwealth to investigate in one forum the criminal activities that have allegedly occurred in multiple counties. The statewide Grand Jury bill creates that mechanism and vests in the Attorney General, with the appropriate involvement of the courts and the District Attorneys, the authority to convene and utilize a Grand Jury with statewide investigative and indicting authority. Existing law gives the Attorney General jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute criminal cases throughout the Commonwealth. However, Grand Juries have only countywide jurisdiction. As result, our Grand Jury investigations must a proceed county by county, potentially involving as many as four or five separate county Grand Juries in the investigation of a single person, group or continuing course of conduct. As a result, our investigations must stop at one county line and pick up anew in the next county with a completely different -1- s relating to alleged crimes in that particular county alone. This bill will not change the interactions between Grand Juries and the District Attorneys or the Attorney General. However, it will address a severe limitation on those Grand Juries. That limitation is the county line - a boundary that criminals do not recognize but, right now, all of our Grand Juries must. As District Attorney of Middlesex County for eight years, I saw countless examples of serious criminal conduct that occurred in our county, but also involved illicit activities in one or more other counties. It might mean that a person or group selling cocaine in our county was also selling elsewhere; or that a con artist, or dishonest businessperson was victimizing consumers in several different counties. A mechanism did not, and does not currently exist, that enables the Commonwealth to investigate in one forum the criminal activities that have allegedly occurred in multiple counties. The statewide Grand Jury bill creates that mechanism and vests in the Attorney General, with the appropriate involvement of the courts and the District Attorneys, the authority to convene and utilize a Grand Jury with statewide investigative and indicting authority. Existing law gives the Attorney General jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute criminal cases throughout the Commonwealth. However, Grand Juries have only countywide jurisdiction. As result, our Grand Jury investigations must a proceed county by county, potentially involving as many as four or five separate county Grand Juries in the investigation of a single person, group or continuing course of conduct. As a result, our investigations must stop at one county line and pick up anew in the next county with a completely different ) )