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December 12, 2006

Judge opens Station-fire hearing to the public

PROVIDENCE -- Tomorrow's hearing on whether the public can see transcripts of secret grand jury testimony will be open to the public, a Superior Court judge ruled this morning.

When Judge Joseph F. Rodgers Jr. scheduled tomorrow's hearing two months ago, he ordered that it be closed to the public and that all legal briefs regarding whether the grand jury material should be disclosed also remain confidential. The closure was necessary to protect the secrecy of grand jury matters.

But this morning, at a hearing on a motion by The Providence Journal to open the hearing, Rodgers said he now sees no danger that an open hearing tomorrow would divulge grand jury matters. He also said that all the briefs filed in the matter have no grand jury secrets in them and ordered the court clerk to make them public.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker

Posted by Paul Parker  at 11:33 AM | Permalink

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