District Attorney Jim Martin has announced that pursuant to his request the Honorable Maria L. Dantos, supervising judge of the investigating grand jury, has petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to grant leave to the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas to resume use of an indicting grand jury. The supreme court has granted the petition of Dantos.

Upon the petition of District Attorney Martin, Lehigh County empaneled its first investigating grand jury in 2001. The ninth investigating grand jury is currently empaneled and hearing cases. The order granting the petition of Dantos will permit the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas to order that the current investigating grand jury and subsequent investigating grand juries also act as an indicting grand jury in cases where it is deemed to be warranted.

The request of the Court of Common Pleas by Martin was made pursuant to the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. Under the rules, the district attorney must certify and aver that witness intimidation has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur in the judicial district and that an indicting grand jury will remedy the problem of witness intimidation.

“Utilizing the investigating grand jury as an indicting grand jury promotes efficiency and also will lessen the possibility of witness intimidation. Proceeding by indictment will eliminate the necessity of a preliminary hearing where there is probable cause that witness intimidation has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur, and Judge Dantos’ willingness to petition the supreme court is appreciated,” Martin said.