Rule Text
An indictment, when found by the grand jury, must be presented by their foreman, in their presence, to the court, and must be filed with the clerk, and remain in the clerk's office as a public record. Upon the request of the grand jury's legal advisor, the presiding judge of the grand jury may order the indictment sealed until the defendant is arrested.
Amendment history: R.L.1910, § 5734. Amended by Laws 1961, p. 237, § 1; Laws 2012, c. 176, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2012.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a grand jury decides to indict someone, the foreman must hand over the indictment to the court while the rest of the grand jury is present. After that, the indictment gets filed with the court clerk, and it normally becomes a public record that anyone can look up.
There's one exception to this. If the grand jury's legal advisor asks for it, the judge overseeing the grand jury can order the indictment sealed. This means it stays hidden from public view until the person named in it gets arrested. This usually happens so the defendant doesn't find out ahead of time and try to run or hide before police can catch them.