Wyoming Valley Conference Swimming All-Stars

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Thomas J. Botzman: Colleges recommit to helping our communities through service learning

Psst. We can&#8217;t say too much about it, but Luzerne County might soon convene a grand jury &#8211; a group whose members are sworn to secrecy as they listen to and weigh evidence before deciding if prosecutors have built a sufficient case to file criminal charges.That&#8217;s potentially bad news for bad guys.But for people perturbed by the area&#8217;s violent and drug-fueled crime, it represents a good-faith effort to deliver justice in a number of stalled cases. Too often lately, uncooperative witnesses pose roadblocks for prosecutors trying to bring cases to trial, Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis recently told the Times Leader&#8217;s Opinion Board.Salavantis anticipates the grand jury will be up and running at an undisclosed site within weeks, she told us. (For the record, in a conversation nearly 12 months ago she told another area news outlet about her aspirations to have the program in place &#8220;as soon as possible.&#8221;)Assuming it materializes as planned this spring, the grand jury reportedly would rely on a pool of about two dozen members, plus alternates, serving for 18-month terms. A juror could expect to be called for duty one or two days each month; although in some months, he or she might not be pressed into service at all.Unlike a typical courtroom&#8217;s jury, this group&#8217;s role is not to come to consensus on guilt or innocence. Instead, its members hear a mostly one-sided account of a situation. They then help prosecutors to gauge if the case lacks merit, seems too flimsy or if the accused should be charged.Everyone involved in the process &#8211; attorneys, stenographers, etc. &#8211; must remain tight-lipped about the grand jury&#8217;s activities or possibly face prosecution. (State Attorney General Kathleen Kane can attest to that fact, as it&#8217;s the crux of a complaint against her.)One big advantage of a grand jury: Because its process is cloaked in secrecy, witnesses who might otherwise face intimidation or fear retaliation can testify without confronting a defendant. Transcripts of this testimony can be made available at a later trial if a witness clams up or reconsiders.Although you won&#8217;t hear much about it &#8211; with good reason &#8211; Luzerne County&#8217;s grand jury system offers a new and necessary scope of protection for witnesses, and a means for ensuring certain people can&#8217;t evade a courtroom forever.

Our Opinion: Pending grand jury in Luzerne County provides new strategy to reach reluctant witnesses