# Claim 755

The Supreme Court's opinion said one interest served by grand jury secrecy is that making preindictment proceedings public would make prospective witnesses hesitant to come forward voluntarily, knowing the people they testified against would learn of their testimony.

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 1 source.

- Statement: The Supreme Court's opinion said one interest served by grand jury secrecy is that making preindictment proceedings public would make prospective witnesses hesitant to come forward voluntarily, knowing the people they testified against would learn of their testimony.
- Field: stated_justification
- Value: Secrecy protects witnesses willing to testify voluntarily
- About: [incident 1990-us-butterworth-v-smith-grand-jury-secrecy](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1990-us-butterworth-v-smith-grand-jury-secrecy)
- Source: Butterworth v. Smith, 494 U.S. 624 (1990). https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0494_0624_ZO.html
- Publisher: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Method: court record
- Checked: 2026-09-26
- Confidence: high
- Status: current
- Source date: 1990-03-21

## Quotation from the source

> First, if preindictment proceedings were made public, many prospective witnesses would be hesitant to come forward voluntarily, knowing that those against whom they testify would be aware of that testimony.

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