STATEN ISLAND — The state's highest court agreed Monday to expedite the appeals process to release the grand jury testimony in the Eric Garner case.
Public Advocate Letitia James filed a motion to expedite the review of the case on April 14, which a state appeal court approved, records show.
"The crisis of confidence in our criminal justice system is intensifying in every way, and we must act now," James said. "The public has the right to know what happened behind closed doors so we can restore transparency in our faith in the criminal justice system."
In March, Staten Island Judge William Garnett denied requests to release the minutes from the Eric Garner grand jury proceedings, but James, the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP filed an appeal in the state over the decision.
Lawyers for the public advocate argued that the release of the grand jury testimony would help the public understand the grand jury's decision and help lawmakers make reforms to the process.
"We don't even know what, if anything, went wrong," Matthew Brinckerhoff, James' lawyer, said. "All these proceedings are presumptively secret."
Eric Garner, 44, died last year from a police chokehold as he was arrested by NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo for selling untaxed cigarettes.
A grand jury ruled not to indict Pantaleo for Garner's death in December, which sparked waves of protests around the city.
Oral arguments for the appeal will be heard in June, shaving off about a year of the appeals process, Brinckerhoff said.
