2006 Utah Code - 77-10a-2 — Panel of judges -- Appointment -- Membership -- Ordering of grand jury.

     77-10a-2.   Panel of judges -- Appointment -- Membership -- Ordering of grand jury.
     (1) (a) The presiding officer of the Judicial Council shall appoint a panel of five judges from the district courts of the state to hear in secret all persons claiming information that would justify the calling of a grand jury. The presiding officer may appoint senior status district court judges to the panel. The presiding officer shall designate one member of the panel as supervising judge to serve at the pleasure of the presiding officer. The panel has the authority of the district court.
     (b) To ensure geographical diversity on the panel one judge shall be appointed from the first or second district for a five-year term, one judge shall be appointed from the third district for a four-year term, one judge shall be appointed from the fourth district for a three-year term, one judge shall be appointed from the fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth districts for a two-year term, and one judge shall be appointed from the third district for a one-year term. Following the first term, all terms on the panel are for five years.
     (c) The panel shall hold hearings in each judicial district at least once every three years and may meet at any location within the state. Three members of the panel constitute a quorum for the transaction of panel business. The panel shall act by the concurrence of a majority of members present and may act through the supervising judge or managing judge. The schedule for the hearings shall be set by the panel and published by the Office of the Court Administrator. Persons appearing before the panel shall be placed under oath and examined by the judges conducting the hearings. Hearsay evidence may be presented at the hearings only under the same provisions and limitations that apply to preliminary hearings.
     (2) (a) If the panel finds good cause to believe a grand jury is necessary, the panel shall make its findings in writing and may order a grand jury to be summoned.
     (b) The panel may refer a matter to the attorney general, county attorney, district attorney, or city attorney for investigation and prosecution. The referral shall contain as much of the information presented to the panel as the panel determines relevant. The attorney general, county attorney, district attorney, or city attorney shall report to the panel the results of any investigation and whether the matter will be prosecuted by a prosecutor's information. The report shall be filed with the panel within 120 days after the referral unless the panel provides for a different amount of time. If the panel is not satisfied with the action of the attorney general, county attorney, district attorney, or city attorney, the panel may order a grand jury to be summoned.
     (3) When the attorney general, a county attorney, a district attorney, or a special prosecutor appointed under Section 77-10a-12 certifies in writing to the supervising judge that in his judgment a grand jury is necessary because of criminal activity in the state, the panel, upon a determination of good cause, shall order a grand jury to be summoned.
     (4) The supervising judge may at the time the grand jury is summoned:
     (a) order that it be drawn from the state at large as provided in this chapter or from any district within the state; and
     (b) retain authority to supervise the grand jury or delegate the supervision of the grand jury to any judge of any district court within the state.

Amended by Chapter 218, 1994 General Session