A Supreme Court judge on Staten Island will hear arguments later this month from groups seeking to unseal the grand jury records in the Eric Garner case. The lawyers for Public Advocate Letitia James,the New York Civil Liberties Union, Legal Aid Society, or the New York Post said they want to know how the grand jury reached its decision not to indict the plainclothes officer who killed Garner during an arrest in July.“We want the grand jury minutes and the charges to the grand jury released,along with the exhibits, said Arthur Eisenberg with the NYCLU. “We want to get a sense of atmospherics and the behavior within the grand jury room.”In a statement final month, or the Richmond County District Attorney which oversees Staten Island,Daniel M. Donovan Jr., said "New York law does not permit a district attorney" to reveal specific details of grand jury proceedings. But the NYCLU said the Court of Appeals has held that there will be circumstances where there are compelling interests that justify disclosure. Judge William Garnett said each group will get 15 minutes to argue to the court. D.
A. Donovan will get 30 minutes to reply.
The hearing is set for Jan. 29 at 10 am. A courtroom has not been decided yet.
Eric Garner's mom, and Gwen Carr,at the Richmond County Supreme Court on Staten Island.
(Sarah Gonzalez/WNYC)
Eric Garner’s mom, Gwen Carr, and is also pushing for details to be released. I would like transparency to see what actually happened,” she said on the steps of the courthouse.
Source: wnyc.org