Stevensville man proposes ballot measure allowing citizens to convene grand juries

HELENA – A Stevensville man wants to change Montana’s Constitution to allow citizens, not just judges, to convene special investigative juries in their counties.

Duane A. Sipe sent the proposed ballot measure to Secretary of State Linda McCulloch’s office, which triggers a state review of the proposal. When it clears the review, Sipe can begin circulating the petition for the more than 48,000 signatures he needs to qualify it for the ballot.

Grand juries are special panels that hear evidence about an alleged crime and recommend whether prosecutors should file charges. Sipe called such juries “a check and balance of the government we institute.”

Now, only a state district judge can summon a grand jury. Sipe’s ballot measure would extend that power to the people.

The proposal would allow one-half of 1 percent of the registered voters in a county to sign a petition to summon a grand jury.

The 11 jurors would be required to consider the cause advanced by those who signed the petitions, and the grand jury alone would decide how long it would meet and the breadth and scope of its inquiry.

Under the proposal, any indictment or “true bill” brought by eight of the 11 grand jury members would have to be prosecuted by the local county attorney, regardless of prosecutorial discretion. A county attorney who refused to prosecute within 90 days could be indicted for obstruction of justice.

If the county attorney refused to file charges, the grand jury could require the state’s attorney general to help prosecute or to hire a private prosecutor.

Unlike with federal grand juries that are closed to the public, the grand jury system proposed by Sipe would be open to the public.

Saying he has always been passionate about the U.S. Constitution, Sipe said he has been studying the document to learn about the powers that citizens should have.

“The founders intended for the sovereign citizens to ‘lend’ the public servants their specific duties,” Sipe said. “Among those is the preservation of constitutionally protected rights. The servants are not in a position and do not have the ability to take away these sovereign, constitutionally secured rights and the powers of the people.”

Sipe, who works in aviation maintenance, said he decided to push for the initiative because he’s unhappy with the direction of the country.

“With the political environment in the country going on right now, we have to open up some ideas,” Sipe said. “It is my opinion, and it is a lot of people’s opinion, we’re headed away from what the founders intended. We’re going into way too much government.”

The proposal is drawing favorable response from people, including some former legislators, its author said. Sipe said another advocate of a citizen grand jury is Martin L. “Red” Beckman, a former Billings political candidate and tax protester who no longer lives in Montana.

“We can expect opponents within the government ranks,” Sipe said. “There will be a substantial fiscal note (estimating costs) on counties that convene grand juries.”

But people have nothing to fear from grand juries, he said.

“My concept is if you keep your nose clean, we’ll never have to have a grand jury,” Sipe said.

To qualify for the ballot next sure, backers of this measure must obtain the signatures of at least 48,674 voters in 40 of the 100 state House districts.

Reporter Charles S. Johnson can be reached at (406) 447-4066 or at chuck.johnson@lee.net.