OH HB527

Felony defendants may request an "open grand jury" proceeding as an alternative to the traditional secret grand jury system, where proceedings are open to the public and defendants can move for discharge or present evidence in their own defense

Creates two types of grand juries in Ohio: "secret grand juries" (existing system with confidential proceedings) and "open grand juries" (new public proceedings available upon defendant request)

Defendants must be informed at first appearance of their right to a preliminary hearing or open grand jury, and may demand through the open grand jury process that the state establish probable cause for the charges

The state may object to an open grand jury request if it can establish the case should proceed secretly to prevent destruction of evidence, address flight risk, or mitigate risk of harm to others

If a defendant requests an open grand jury but a secret grand jury has already returned an indictment, the case proceeds to the secret grand jury and defendant may be held up to 10 consecutive days pending indictment