I don’t recall ever hearing or reading the term “grand jury” as much as I have in the last few months. The criminal grand jury decisions – in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York – not to indict police officers for their roles in the deaths of two people are responsible for this resurgence in attention.
This has all taken place during a time I serve on the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury. When I applied and was accepted to this year-long commitment, I found myself often explaining to friends and acquaintances what I was getting involved in.
“Oh, I was on jury duty once” was a common reply to my announcement. It was a pleasure to explain the difference between jury duty and the civil grand jury – and to encourage others to pursue this public service as well.
As the decisions of the two criminal grand juries were announced, the question has become: “How could you be doing that?” This was an opportunity to explain the difference between a criminal grand jury and a civil grand jury – a question I had as well when I first got involved.
A criminal grand jury, composed of 12 jurors, convenes at the discretion of the district attorney, drawing from a pool similar to the one calling citizens to regular jury duty. Its job is to determine whether there’s enough probable cause against a defendant to warrant charges. The jurors meet, listen, ask questions and decide if an indictment is in order.
The civil grand jury is a very different body. In fact, if we should happen upon potential criminal situations, we are obligated to turn that information over to the district attorney.
I first learned about this civic-minded group several years ago, while reading about the results of their work in the Weekly. I realized I couldn’t manage working full time and also serving on the jury, so I set aside the idea until retirement.
With that prospect on the horizon this year, I applied, was interviewed and was accepted as one of the 30 nominees. From that group of 30, 19 names were randomly drawn to be sworn in and form this year’s civil grand jury. I was the second alternate, left in limbo, not knowing if or when one, or actually two, of the seated jurors’ circumstances would change and they would drop out, presenting an opportunity for me to be called.
This happened fairly early, and since I had done the two-day training at the beginning of the term, it didn’t take long to catch up.
The civil grand jury is intended to look at the practices of local government and is given tremendous leeway in what they decide to examine. Ideally, the composition of the group is a reflection of the county’s citizens for whom they work.
The issues the jury investigates generally come from three sources: their own ideas and observations based on their lives in Monterey County, issues that come to their attention through the media, and from written citizen complaints submitted to the jury. The jury considers each complaint but isn’t obligated to act on them.
It’s not unusual for the jury to divide into groups to investigate different areas of government. Law enforcement, health and social services, cities, county departments, education and special districts are common themes.
Once topics are identified, they begin researching, conducting interviews with primary sources and holding meetings. Eventually, they publish written reports on the results of their investigations. In addition, the jury is required to visit the jails and prisons in the county each year.
I am finding the time commitment – at least 25 hours per week at this point in the term – to be very demanding, but in a good way. I am learning more about what makes this county tick than I ever imagined. I feel honored to be working with a talented and dedicated group of individuals, many of whom do manage to balance work and their grand jury commitments, something I couldn’t figure out.
I almost forgot to mention the pay: $15 for each day spent on jury business, plus reimbursement at the federal rate for mileage to and from meetings and site visits. That almost pays for lunch.
PETER HILLER retired in 2014 after four decades as an educator. He lives in Carmel.
Printed in Monterey Herald
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