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Since grand jury proceedings are secret, grand juries meet
in private, which means they usually meet in areas that are not accessible to the public.
Federal grand juries meet in special "grand jury rooms" that are located in
generally out of the way areas of a federal courthouse.
A number of states have laws which declare that grand juries must meet in areas
that are private; a New Mexico statute, for example, says that all grand jury
deliberations "will be conducted in a private room outside the hearing or presence of
any person other than the grand jury members." To ensure that grand jury proceedings
remain secret, a number of state laws require that private rooms be made available for
their sessions. Kentucky and North Dakota statutes, for example, put the burden on county
officials to provide private grand jury rooms; Texas places this obligation on the county
sheriff, while Mississippi puts it on the Attorney General.
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