Appeals court ruling could pave way for release of Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records

The Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that a Palm Beach judge was mistaken in ruling that he didn’t have the authority to determine whether grand jury records should be released from the 2006 inquiry into Epstein’s sex crimes. The court sent the case back to Circuit Judge Donald W. Hafele, with the instruction that he determine which of the grand jury records could be released. A different effort — long-shot legislation submitted by two Palm Beach lawmakers tailored in a way to allow release of Epstein grand jury records but not other grand jury files — went nowhere in the just-finished session, despite Republican lawmakers, who hold sway in both chambers, making the fight against sexual “groomers” a focus of rhetoric. Palm Beach attorney Spencer Kuvin represented several of Epstein’s victims and said that the release of these records is still very important to victims, nearly two decades later. “There was a huge amount of secrecy.”The Palm Beach Post sued to have the records released.