SAA
Supports Petition to Open Grand Jury Testimony Related to Alger Hiss
Indictments
The Society
of American Archivists (SAA) supports the petition to open grand jury
testimony related to the 1948 Alger Hiss indictments. The significant
mitigating circumstances involved with the case justify opening customarily
closed grand jury records. In reaching this decision, SAA recognizes
that its code of ethics calls for archivists to uphold restrictions imposed
by law to protect the privacy of citizens. However, SAA also recognizes
that access to important records contributes to an accountable government.
It is its hope that the court will recognize that in this case the public
interest would be well served by lifting the restrictions that archivists
might otherwise be forced to obey.
The
justification for opening access is particularly strong when researchers
engaged in a sustained effort to understand a complex historical issue
are unable to gain insight because a critical body of records remains
closed. In the case of the Alger Hiss grand jury records, SAA finds
the need to provide scholars a full account of the testimony leading to
the Hiss indictment to be well balanced and compelling. The continuing
controversy over the indictment, the potential that political influence
bore on the formulation of the indictment, and the competing claims of
individuals who gained national prominence following the grand jury testimony
combine to make the details of the case of clear national significance.
The
Hiss grand jury is truly exceptional. SAA does not, in calling for
the opening of these records, suggest that all grand jury records be subject
to disclosure. However, we also believe that there is compelling
public interest in allowing for the possibility that court records, including
grand jury testimony, can be subject to eventual disclosure in cases of
major national interest. The Hiss case presents an excellent illustration
of appropriate circumstances for opening such records. Given the
considerable time that has passed since the 1948 grand jury and the fact
that not only was Hiss convicted of the crimes, but most of the principals
in the case have long since deceased, there is no transcendent reason
to maintain the secrecy of the records.
In
an era when the conduct of grand juries has come into open public debate,
SAA believes the Hiss case, beyond its substantial inherent merits, offers
an ideal opportunity to affirm the principle that the potential disclosure
of grand jury records ensures a more accountable grand jury system and
thereby discourages government misconduct.
Thus
at the core, SAA supports the opening of the Hiss grand jury records because
this action is fully consistent with and supportive of the fundamental
archival mission to ensure that access to important records contributes
to an accountable government. This is a cornerstone to the United
States Constitution and to democracy as much as it is a compelling tenet
of archival work.
Approved by the Council of the Society of American Archivists, December
1998
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