Rep. Craven calls for Attorney General to seek court opinion on release of 38 Studios evidence

TATE HOUSE – Rep. Robert E. Craven Sr., a former assistant attorney general, is
calling on Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin to file a declaratory judgment action
in Providence Superior Court seeking the court’s instruction on the release of the
grand jury documents and testimony in the 38 Studios investigation.
«Although the Attorney General has made his position on the disclosure of 38 Studios
materials clear, the Rhode Island Supreme Court stated in a 1998 decision that there
is ‘no per se rule against disclosure of any and all information which has reached
the grand jury,’ and in the interest of the public’s right to know, our courts
should decide the matter,» said Representative Craven (D-Dist. 32, North Kingstown).
Noting that several good government groups have called on Attorney General Kilmartin
to release the grand jury records, Representative Craven believes that it is the
responsibility of Attorney General Kilmartin to seek judicial review of the
propriety of releasing the records so that the taxpayers know what happened behind
the scenes of the failed video game company.
«This controversy has been shrouded in secrecy for too long and nothing short of a
judicial determination of the legality of releasing the grand jury records will
suffice as a true vetting of this question. The residents of Rhode Island deserve
to know why their tax dollars were wasted, and continue to be wasted, on this bad
business deal arranged by government insiders and the well-connected,» added
Representative Craven.
Representative Craven served as an assistant attorney general from 1983 to 1992,
which included a stint as chief of the Rhode Island Public Corruption Unit. He has
been a practicing attorney for more than three decades, with a law office in North
Kingstown. He is also an assistant solicitor and probate judge in Charlestown and
an assistant solicitor in East Providence.
He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and is the chairman of the House
Municipal Government Committee.