This case concerned whether a writ of prohibition should issue to bar prosecution based on indictments returned by an additional grand jury in Rockland County Court, on the ground that the grand jury was illegally constituted because the Administrative Judge lacked authority to order it impaneled for a four-month period extending beyond the regular two-month terms. The Court of Appeals held that the writ would not lie and affirmed the Appellate Division's denial of relief. The majority reasoned that sections 214 and 216 of the Judiciary Law, together with the applicable administrative rules, empowered the Administrative Judge to authorize the additional grand jury for the requested period, and that no statute imposed a strict limit tying the additional jury's term to the regular terms. The court therefore concluded the grand jury was lawfully constituted and the indictments were valid.

criminal lawprocedure