For centuries, grand juries have held some of the criminal justice system's best-kept secrets. But their private process has come under extraordinary public scrutiny after recent decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of unarmed men, causing a closely-watched court battle and a batch of proposed reforms in New York state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week proposed a limited lifting of the grand jury veil when police kill unarmed civilians, and on Feb. 5, Acting Supreme Court Justice William Garnett will consider whether to release transcripts of a Staten Island grand jury's investigation into Eric Garner's chokehold death.

The Staten Island hearing was to have be have been held Wednesday, but was delayed because of other obligations on Garnett's part and the snow-related closure of the courts on Tuesday.