Who could handle an expungement motion after a conflicted prosecutor's office yielded a grand-jury matter?

Plain-English summary

A prosecutor's office had a conflict in a grand-jury proceeding, so a special prosecutor was appointed. The subject later moved to expunge the grand-jury report.

The opinion said the original prosecutor could not handle the expungement motion and the special prosecutor could. It cited no numbered rule or further reasoning.

Currency note

This 1993 opinion predates Missouri's 2007 amendments to its Rules of Professional Conduct. An official reference note identifies July 1, 2007 amendments to Rules 4-1.9 and 4-1.10. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify current rules before relying on it.

Common questions

Q: Could the conflicted prosecutor handle expungement?

A: No.

Q: Could the appointed special prosecutor handle it?

A: Yes, according to the opinion.

Background and rules framework

The opinion addressed the continuation of a special-prosecutor assignment into a related grand-jury expungement motion. It cited no numbered rule.

See also

• Missouri Informal Op. 950205: Special prosecutor's firm conflicts
• Missouri Informal Op. 20030025: Occasional special prosecutor

Source

• Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/930119/

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

QUESTION: Prosecutor's office had a conflict on grand jury proceeding and a special prosecutor was appointed. Subject of proceeding has now filed a motion to expunge the grand jury report. May the prosecutor or the special prosecutor handle the motion to expunge? ANSWER: The prosecutor may not. The special prosecutor may.