Do you report no bills to your local papers? I've had a reporter complain that we don't give them the names of cases that are no billed.I was interested to see a google search of no-bill and that defense attorneys are keeping a running list of cases as advertisements.

I don't believe there is any legal requirement to publicly record a no bill. Texas CCP art. 20.22 only speaks of requiring the local clerk to enter on the minutes of the court "presentment of an indictment", meaning a true bill.

Locally, we make a no bill entry on our internal file, notify the defendant/attorney and make a computerized entry on the county database. If anyone asks, we will disclose the decision of the grand jury, but we don't print and publish any list of no bills.

If the case received some advance publicity or the defendant is a public figure who receives a lot of attention, it might be appropriate to issue some sort of official statement notifying the public of the outcome of the grand jury investigation, but there is no legal requirement.

One of my Judges takes the position that to reveal a no bill violates the secrecy of the Grand Jury. He has recently, through local rules, required that no'bills not be entered in the minutes of the court. He requires a "certificate of no bill" that is kept by the clerk in a sealed file which may only be released under court order. As for the newspaper, we used to give them a copy of our GJ docket sheet that contained all indictments, passes, no bills. I'm going to have to reconsider this practice in light of the Judges opinion (one I do not necessarily agree with)

I had considered making the argument that no bills were secret. If you read the Texas GJ secrecy law, it could be read to say that anything but the true bill is secret and can only be released by court order.

That seems a little strange, at least as to notifying the defendant who sits in jail. But, we could consider the motion to dismiss, signed by the judge, as the court order in that situation.

But, what happens to the unarrested defendant who gets no billed. Seems a bit much to have to get a court order to tell his attorney that his case was no billed.

Also, the no bill is not revealing actual deliberations or testimony, only the result. All in all, it seems OK to reveal a no bill, perhaps even necessary, especially when the investigation involves a defendant who knows he is being investigated or the case has received public interest. Plus, there is a strong need for the public to know the no bills from a grand jury to evaluate the work of the GJ and prosecutors.

Since the effect of a no bill is simply no indictment, and does not prevent the DA from re-presenting the case again, perhaps when you "notify" the defendant, you are not really telling him that he has not been indicted (which he could see by the fact that he is NOT on the published list). What you are telling him is that the district attorney does not intend to re-present the case to a later grand jury. The DA's decision not to present a case is certainly up to the DA to disclose or not.

So assuming you take the position that no bills are secret, you could still accomplish the same thing by stating that the case is being dropped and no further presentation to a future grand jury will be made.

As an aside, Do you consider the lack of 9 jurors to vote True a "No Bill"? I was "raised" understanding that it took nine votes for a "no Bill" but I can not find any statutory basis for this. So if you have a 6-6 vote, is that a "No Bill"?

A question that frequently comes up.

A true bill is 9 votes or more for indictment. Assuming the grand jury has decided to take a formal vote on the case, anything less than 9 votes for indictment is a no bill. Otherwise, any 4 jurors, by always voting to indict, could prevent a no bill, even though a majority of the grand jurors do not believe there is probable cause.

Although not formally recognized, a grand jury can also vote to pass a case, thereby indicating to the prosecutor that additional investigation is needed for the grand jury to make a decision.

I don't see any mention of 'no bill' at all. I took for granted that a no bill must be a vote of 9 or more and anything else would be an automatic pass.

JB, can you clarify / justify your opinion? I'm not surprised that I'm wrong, I'd just like to understand / read why.

It is simply how CCP Art. 20.19 is interpreted. Nine or more votes result in a "true bill"; less than nine votes is a "no bill".

I have always treated anything less than 9 votes one way or the other as a pass. Don't know why. "We jest all way done it that way!" I've noticed that the mechanics of grand jury differs quite a bit from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Who Physically keeps the minute book?
District Clerk or DA

Do you actually deliver the indictments to the Clerk of the court with nine members present?

Do you prepare the indictments in advance or prepare them after the GJ votes to indict?

Do you endorse the witnesses names on the indictment?

What do you put in the GJ minute book?
no bills?
"In re" matters
or just what the little columns call for and who decided what should be put in these nice big leather bound books

Do you keep any other record of the Grand Jury such as your own docket book/sheet?

I realize many of the statutes governing the operation of the grand jury have been held directory and not mandatory but it seems to me these statutes are antiquated and do not reflect the current operation of most grand juries.

"We jest all way done it that way!" I've noticed that the mechanics of grand jury differs quite a bit from jurisdiction to jurisdiction...

Strange isn't it? I took the grand jury book from the District Clerk after I took office because anybody could and would look at the book

Yes we definitely return the true bills in open court and I go with all of my indictments prepared. If I get a no bill I tear up the indictment and sometimes I pass if the Grand Jury wants more evidence.It keeps the Grand Jury from having to come back again.

When I was an assistant we even returned actual No Bills in writing until one of our prison prosecutors with lots of other jurisdictions told us it was wrong.

After the grand jury has finished deliberating, they call me into the room and let me know their decisions. I present the indictments (which are prepared in advance) for signature by the foreman. I call the district clerk to receive the indictments. Witness names are not endorsed. The grand jury agenda, which has a column for grand jury action (true bill, no bill or pass) is signed by the foreman. This is given to the district clerk with the signed indictments and he files it in his office as our "minute book". No other record is kept.

For "no bills" I fill out a form and have the foreman sign it so there will be a record.

There is no longer a legal requirement that the indictments be presented in open court to a judge.