A New York appeals court ordered a Staten Island judge to hold a public hearing on Dec. 19 about the unsealing of the Eric Garner grand jury deliberations, The Post​ has learned​.
Public ​Advocate Letitia James had asked Justice Stephen J. Rooney to hold the hearing earlier this week.
Rooney signed off on the request on Dec. 10, but said that the appearance between attorneys for James and Richmond County District Attorney Daniel Donovan would be closed to the public.
So James rushed to Appellate Division Judge Robert J. Miller, who said in a ruling made public Friday that the hearing must be open to the public.
“The interest of the public and the perception of fairness makes transparency vital,” James said in a statement.
“I hope that these actions will result in accessibility of these court documents and proceedings,” she said.
She is asking Donovan to release “the minutes and all other records and evidence presented to the grand jury in the matter of the investigation into the death of Eric Garner,” according to court papers.
Judge Rooney has written that “the secrecy of the grand jury is jealously guarded because the confidentiality of its proceedings must be insured if it is to conintue to be effective.”
Last week the Staten Island grand jury failed to hold Officer Daniel Pantaleo responsible for Garner’s death in July.
A rep for the DA declined to comment.