U.S. Attorney Orders Review of Over 1,000 Grand Jury Presentations After Misconduct Dismisses Protest Case

U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said his office is reviewing more than 1,000 grand jury presentations in the Northern District of Illinois after charges were dismissed in the Broadview Six case due to grand jury abuses and prosecutorial misconduct. Boutros made the statements Wednesday at an unrelated press conference in Washington, D.C.

He said the review will examine cases dating back as far as 2007 and will cover all pending cases as well. "When this is all said and done, I will tell you that well over 1,000 grand jury presentations will be reviewed in the Northern District of Illinois," Boutros said. "They will both be retroactive, looking at what happened in some cases going all the way back almost 20 years.

The Broadview Six case involved protesters arrested outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, last fall. U.S. District Judge April Perry unsealed grand jury transcripts that showed former Assistant U.S.

Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg improperly vouched for the strength of the evidence, dismissed grand jurors who disagreed, and contacted one grand juror outside official proceedings. Mecklenburg left the U.S. Attorney's Office to work for Sen.

Dick Durbin and was later fired from that post. Boutros announced a remediation plan that includes new reforms creating "very bright lines" about when prosecutors must turn over grand jury material. "It's going to be a massive review, a comprehensive review, and it is underway," Boutros said.