State v. Lampl

• Decision Date: 16 March 2015
• Docket Number: No. S14G0591.,S14G0591.
• Citation: 770 S.E.2d 629,296 Ga. 892
• Parties: The STATE v. LAMPL.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

296 Ga. 892

770 S.E.2d 629

The STATE

v.LAMPL.

No. S14G0591.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

March 16, 2015.

Reconsideration Denied April 9, 2015.

Tracy Graham–Lawson, Dist. Atty., Elizabeth A. Baker, Kathryn L. Powers, Frances C. Kuo, Asst. Dist. Attys., Decatur, for Appellant.

Brian Steel, The Steel Law Firm, P.C., Atlanta, for Appellee.

Opinion

HUNSTEIN, Justice.

We granted the State's petition for a writ of certiorari in this criminal case to determine whether the Court of Appeals properly affirmed the superior court's order dismissing a particular count of the indictment and suppressing statements made by the defendant, Appellee John James Lampl, before a special purpose grand jury. While we agree with the superior court's conclusion that the special purpose grand jury exceeded the scope of its authority in its investigation, we hold that the relief granted was improper. We therefore reverse.

In March 2011, the Chief Judge of the Clayton Judicial Circuit, at the request of the Clayton County District Attorney, issued an order pursuant to OCGA § 15–12–100 authorizing the impaneling of a special purpose grand jury to investigate certain alleged public corruption. The special purpose grand jury issued subpoenas to various witnesses, including Lampl, who testified before it in June 2011. In July 2011, the special purpose grand jury returned a 16–count bill of indictment against Lampl on charges of conspiracy in restraint of free and open competition, false statements and writings, and perjury. The indictment was subsequently nolle prossed in the aftermath of the Court of Appeals' holding in Kenerly v. State, 311 Ga.App. 190, 715 S.E.2d 688 (2011), that the authority of a special purpose grand jury is limited to conducting investigations and does not include the power to issue indictments.

Shortly thereafter, in September 2011, Lampl was indicted by a regular Clayton County grand jury on eight counts, including one perjury count, similar to those charged in the special purpose grand jury's initial indictment. The conspiracy and false statements counts all pertain to alleged conduct by Lampl, in his capacity as City Manager for the City of Morrow, in connection with a City real estate development project known as “Olde Towne Morrow.” The perjury count is based on an alleged false statement Lampl made in the course of his testimony before the special purpose grand jury.¹

Through counsel, Lampl filed a bevy of pretrial motions, including (1) a Motion to Quash Count VIII (the perjury count) and (2) a joint Motion to Dismiss Count VIII and Motion to Suppress Defendant's Alleged Statements Made to Grand Jury. Lampl also moved to compel the production of the special purpose grand jury's impaneling order, which had been filed under seal. The trial court subsequently ordered that the impaneling order be unsealed and a redacted version of the order, omitting the names of the particular individuals identified as subjects of the investigation, be released to the parties.

The impaneling order calls for the formation of “a special purpose grand jury for the purpose of investigating public corruption and various crimes allegedly committed by currently or previously elected county officials and county employees.” It is undisputed that, during the time period under investigation, Lampl was an official with and employee of the City of Morrow, not Clayton County, and that Olde Towne Morrow was a project undertaken by the City, not the County. It is also undisputed that Lampl's name was not among those specifically referenced in the impaneling order as subjects of the investigation.²

Contending that the impaneling order did not authorize the special purpose grand jury to investigate alleged corruption by City officials, Lampl then filed a Plea in Bar and Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice, seeking dismissal of either the entire indictment or, in the alternative, Count VIII. In the motion, Lampl asserted that the special purpose grand jury had exceeded its authority in investigating Old Towne Morrow, a non-County project, and unlawfully targeted Lampl, a non-County employee. Lampl argued further that the Clayton County District Attorney, by knowingly employing the special purpose grand jury to investigate matters outside the scope of the impaneling order, had committed a “gross abuse of the Grand Jury system,” which justified dismissal of the entire indictment as a sanction. Short of dismissal of the entire indictment, Lampl urged the superior court to dismiss the perjury count because it was based upon a statement made before a grand jury that was unlawfully convened and which, thus, lacked authority to issue an oath.

Following a hearing on this and certain of the other pretrial motions, the superior court agreed with Lampl that the special purpose grand jury had exceeded its authority and granted his requested relief in part. Relying on the reasoning of Kenerly v. State, supra, the court held that the authority of a special purpose grand jury “is limited to the purpose stated when it is impaneled by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court” and that, here, the plain language of the impaneling order authorized the investigation of public corruption only involving county officials and employees. The court thus concluded that the special purpose grand jury had exceeded its authority in investigating the Olde Towne Morrow project and in compelling Lampl's testimony before it. Consequently, the court quashed and dismissed the perjury count and suppressed from evidence Lampl's testimony before the special purpose grand jury and all evidence derived therefrom. Finding that the indictment was returned by a properly constituted grand jury, however, the court declined to dismiss the remainder of the indictment.

On cross-appeals by both sides, the Court of Appeals affirmed, agreeing that the special purpose grand jury had exceeded its authority in investigating Olde Towne Morrow and subpoenaing Lampl and that the perjury count was thus properly dismissed. State v. Lampl, 325 Ga.App. 344(1), 750 S.E.2d 685 (2013). Regarding the superior court's refusal to dismiss the remainder of the indictment, the appellate court concluded that even

[a]ssuming that the unauthorized investigation of Lampl ... involved prosecutorial misconduct which violated Lampl's due process rights, the dismissal of the indictment is not appropriate because Lampl was afforded an adequate remedy, i.e., the suppression of his statements.

Id. at 348, 750 S.E.2d 685. Both sides thereafter filed petitions for certiorari in this Court. We granted the State's petition for writ of certiorari to determine whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the superior court properly dismissed the perjury count and properly ordered the suppression of Lampl's testimony before the special purpose grand jury.³

1. We agree with the courts below that the special purpose grand jury exceeded its authority in investigating the Olde Towne Morrow project and Lampl's involvement in it without any effort to connect that project or Lampl to potential crimes by county officials or employees. OCGA § 15–12–100(a) authorizes the impaneling of a special purpose grand jury “for the purpose of investigating any alleged violation of the laws of this state or any other matter subject to investigation by grand juries as provided by law.” Once impaneled and constituted in accordance with the statute, a special purpose grand jury is empowered to compel evidence, subpoena witnesses, and inspect public documents “which relate directly or indirectly to the subject of the investigation.” Id. at (c). Unless otherwise specified in the statute, the duties of a special purpose grand jury “shall be confined to such matters and things as it is required to perform by the Constitution and laws or by order of any superior court judge. ” (Emphasis supplied.) OCGA § 15–12–71(a) (delineating duties of grand juries generally); see also OCGA § 15–12–102 (except as otherwise provided, law relative to grand juries generally applies to special purpose grand juries). From the foregoing authorities, it follows that a special purpose grand jury has the power to compel testimony and other evidence only insofar as it relates “directly or indirectly to the subject of the investigation” as set forth in the order authorizing its impaneling.

Here, the impaneling order on its face authorizes the investigation of public corruption and crimes allegedly committed by current or former “county officials and county employees.” There is no dispute that Lampl is neither a current nor former county official or employee and that Olde Towne Morrow is not a county project. As the superior court and Court of Appeals both concluded, we, too, hold that the special purpose grand jury lacked the authority to investigate Olde Towne Morrow or Lampl's conduct with regard to that project independent of any connection to potential criminal conduct by county officials or employees.

2. Having determined that the Olde Towne Morrow project and Lampl's involvement therein were not proper subjects of the special purpose grand jury's investigation, we must now consider the propriety of the relief granted by the superior court. We conclude that the superior court erred in dismissing the perjury count and in suppressing Lampl's grand jury testimony as sanctions for the special purpose grand jury's overreach, because the conduct of the special purpose grand jury, though improper, did not constitute a violation of Lampl's constitutional rights or otherwise rise to the level necessary to justify these sanctions.

Dismissal of an indictment and suppression of evidence are extreme sanctions, used only sparingly as remedies for unlawful government conduct. See Wilcox v. State, 250 Ga. 745(4), 301 S.E.2d 251 (1983) (remedy for government misconduct should be tailored to injury suffered and thus dismissal of indictment is generally disfavored); Robinson v. State, 200 Ga.App. 515, 517(1), 408...