ONLY THE COURT CHARGED WITH EMPANELING THE GRAND JURY CAN ORDER THE RELEASE OF THE GRAND JURY MINUTES; IN ORANGE COUNTY THE COURT CHARGED WITH EMPANELING GRAND JURIES IS COUNTY COURT; THEREFORE THE PETITON FOR A WRIT OF PROHIBITION PROHIBITING A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FROM ORDERING THE RELEASE OF THE GRAND JURY MINUTES WAS GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department granted a petition for a writ of prohibition to prohibit a Supreme Court justice from ordering the release of grand jury minutes to the plaintiff in a civil action. Only the court charged with empaneling the grand jury, in this case County Court, can order release of the minutes:
The orders … directing the release of certain grand jury minutes in the subject criminal action and directing the clerk of the court to provide those minutes to the plaintiff’s counsel in the underlying civil action, are subject to prohibition for exceeding the Supreme Court’s authorized powers, as “only the court in charge of a Grand Jury may release testimony from the secrecy requirements of CPL 190.25(4)” … . In Orange County, only terms of the County Court have been charged with the empaneling of grand juries at the times relevant to this proceeding … , and as such, that was the court in charge of the grand jury in the subject criminal action, and the only court authorized to release those grand jury minutes … . Matter of Hoovler v Vazquez-Doles, 2025 NY Slip Op 02204, Secpmd Dept 5-16-25
Practice Point: If a Supreme Court justice issues an order which exceeds that court’s authorized powers, here an an order to release grand jury minutes to a plaintiff in a civil action, a petition for a writ of prohibition will be granted.