Rep. Craven Calls for AG to Seek Court Opinion on Release of 38 Studios Evidence

​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.