In re Essex County Grand Jury Investigation into the Fire at Seton Hall University

845 A.2d 739, 368 N.J. Super. 269, 2003 N.J. Super. LEXIS 418
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedMarch 28, 2003
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 845 A.2d 739 (In re Essex County Grand Jury Investigation into the Fire at Seton Hall University) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Essex County Grand Jury Investigation into the Fire at Seton Hall University, 845 A.2d 739, 368 N.J. Super. 269, 2003 N.J. Super. LEXIS 418 (N.J. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

FALCONE, A.J.S.C.

This matter comes before the court on motion of Joseph E. Lepore and Lauren Lepore to quash the subpoenas compelling them to testify on or about November 21, 2002, before the Special Grand Jury investigating arson, murder and conspiracy to commit the same.1

On the return date of the subpoenas, Joseph E. Lepore and Lauren Lepore were advised for the first time that indictments had been returned against them by the Special Grand Jury. Neither Movant has been indicted for the offenses of arson, murder or conspiracy to commit the same.2

Upon learning that indictments had been handed down against them, both Joseph E. Lepore and Lauren Lepore objected to having to testify before the very same Special Grand Jury that handed down their indictments. In a closed hearing, counsel for each Movant immediately appeared before the court to object to the proceedings. Counsel for the State agreed that the Movants need not testify that date so that counsel could file formal papers contesting Movants’ appearance before the Special Grand Jury.

On or about November 27, 2002, counsel for the Movants filed an application seeking an order to quash the subpoenas to appear before the Special Grand Jury, on the grounds that compelling Movants to testify would violate their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, their Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. In addition, Movants requested an order unsealing the indictment and requiring the State to provide discovery relating to the same.

[276]*276For the reasons set forth herein, the relief sought by the Movants is denied.

I

In the early morning hours of January 19, 2000, a fire broke out on the third floor of Boland Hall, a dormitory located on the South Orange Campus of Seton Hall University. Three first year students were killed and over 50 other students were injured, a number of them severely and permanently.

Since experts believed the fire had been intentionally set, the Office of the Essex County Prosecutor spearheaded a multiagency investigation. On July 17, 2001, after an 18-month investigation, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Donald C. Campolo petitioned the Court, “.. .to empanel a Special Grand Jury to hear evidence heretofore gathered ... and to conduct an investigation” into, inter alia, the “cause and origin of the fire and the identity of the person or persons responsible for setting the fire.” The petition further stated:

During the course of this Office’s investigation over two hundred witnesses have been interviewed and in excess of one hundred twenty-five statements have been taken. These investigative efforts coupled with small and large scale fire testing have provided a large volume of information concerning the facts and circumstances leading up to the fatal fire and the identity of the person or persons responsible for these events.

By Order dated July 27, 2001, this court granted the Prosecutor’s request. The Special Grand Jury was empaneled on October 12, 2001 for an initial term of twenty weeks.3 Prior thereto, on or [277]*277about August 21, 2001, upon application of the Prosecutor’s Office, an order to compel testimony of Joseph E. Lepore, under a grant of immunity, was issued by the Honorable R. Benjamin Cohen, P.J.Ch. On August 28, 2001, Joseph E. Lepore, father of Movant Lauren E. Lepore and Joseph T. Lepore (a target of the investigation),4 appeared before a grand jury to answer questions about conversations he may have had with his son about the fire. Notwithstanding the grant of immunity, he refused to answer questions based upon a “parent-child” privilege. Immediately thereafter, the Prosecutor’s Office filed for an order seeking enforcement of the August 21, 2003 order. On or about November 28, 2001, this Court heard oral argument on the issue of the parent-child privilege and concluded that no such privilege exists in New Jersey. On or about January 14, 2002, the Appellate Division denied Movant Joseph E. Lepore’s motion for leave to appeal. On or about March 19, 2002, the Supreme Court denied the Movant’s application for leave to appeal.

To date, Joseph E. Lepore has not testified before the Special Grand Jury.

As per Movant Lauren Lepore, she was summoned before the Special Grand Jury on August 17, 2001. At that time and on the advice of counsel, she refused to answer any questions in reliance on the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The prosecutor asking the questions of Ms. Lepore advised the court of what had occurred and that he had ordered a transcript of her appearance. Accordingly, a hearing was scheduled for September 10, 2001 to ascertain whether or not Ms. Lepore had properly invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege.

In order to justify invocation of the Fifth Amendment privilege, the witness need only demonstrate that the answer to a question, in the setting in which it is asked, is such that a responsive answer might produce an incriminating disclosure. In [278]*278re Addonizio, 53 N.J. 107, 116, 248 A.2d 531, 536 (1968); In re Boiardo, 34 N.J. 599, 603, 170 A.2d 816, 818 (1961); In re Pillo, 11 N.J. 8, 19, 93 A.2d 176, 181 (1952); see also N.J.R.E. 502; N.J.S.A. 2A:84A-18. On the hearing date, Ms. Lepore was asked to explain why a response to each question, previously asked of her before the Special Grand Jury, would tend to incriminate her. Specifically, the Court advised Ms. Lepore, “I’m going to go over this, question by question, and I’m going to give you an opportunity to explain to me why you believe answering the question would incriminate you.”5 Based on the explanation given, this Court concluded that Ms. Lepore, “did not have a legitimate apprehension, and as a result ... does not have a firm legal basis for invoking the privilege, which means if summoned back before the Grand Jury [she is] ordered to answer the questions.”6 As a result of this ruling, Ms. Lepore was directed to continue her testimony before the Special Grand Jury.

Not long thereafter, the Special Grand Jury returned an indictment against the Movants (presently under seal) for offenses related to interference with the conduct of the investigation. On September 12, 2002, subsequent to the return of the indictment,, the Special Grand Jury requested to hear testimony from the Movants in connection with the fatal fire at Seton Hall.

It is undisputed by all parties that neither Joseph E. Lepore nor Lauren Lepore has ever been a target of the Special Grand Jury’s investigation. The State has not indicated nor suggested that either Movant was anywhere near the scene of the fire in question, or in any way participated in the events that transpired on that fatal day. Additionally, Movants enjoy a grant of immunity in exchange for their truthful testimony before the Special Grand Jury. The Prosecutor’s Office has also certified7 that they will not [279]*279ask any questions related to the Movants’ sealed indictment8, if and when the Movants appear before the Special Grand Jury investigating the fire at Seton Hall.

Notwithstanding this representation, the Movants presuppose that the Special Grand Jury

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845 A.2d 739, 368 N.J. Super. 269, 2003 N.J. Super. LEXIS 418, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-essex-county-grand-jury-investigation-into-the-fire-at-seton-hall-njsuperctappdiv-2003.