Last fall I was talking with a former Superior
Court Judge about the civil grand jury system that is in place in California.
While he was appreciative of the general concept of having a citizen oversight
system at the broad level of a grand jury, he did not seem impressed with the
way members are selected.
The qualifications for serving on a grand
jury, a stint that carries with it a yearlong commitment, are minimal.
Applicants are self-selecting. No one can be compelled to serve on a civil
grand jury.
To be eligible, an applicant initially
completes a small amount of paperwork. The remaining determinants of
eligibility are few. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, they must be
citizens of the United States and they need to be comfortable with the English
language.
People who meet these criteria, after being
referred by a Judge of the Superior Court, are selected randomly; 19
individuals are then sworn in.
The problem my judge friend seemed to have was
the random nature of the selection process. That, he suggested, leaves no real
opportunity to appoint people with specific expertise, expertise that might
prove useful as the group examines the behavior of elected and appointed
government officials.
While that may be true, the random selection
makes it nearly impossible to “pack the jury” in hopes of getting
recommendations that are favorable to a specific cause or situation. That is a
crucial protection.
The method used to put citizens on the grand
jury resembles crowdsourcing. Wikipedia relies on that, as does a free and open
marketplace. Neither is perfect, but each works.
The accuracy of Wikipedia depends on the minds
and knowledge of many. With numerous eyes looking, errors are discovered and
corrections are made.
In a similar way, the crowd in the marketplace
determines the winners and losers in the distribution of goods. Popular
products drive more production of those products and focuses efforts by
competitors to improve the things they produce in order to capture part of what
the crowd in the market wants to buy.
Automobiles and computers are a clear example
of that. Sometimes, of course, the buyers succumb to foolishness, as when they
purchase pet rocks, for example.
I suspect the grand jury has a similar record.
Over the years it may have bought a pet rock or two, but in general it seems to
get it right. There are additional values to the grand jury selection process.
People who volunteer for this sort of thing
generally want to do a good job. They want to get it right. In addition, there
is, usually, a vast array of knowledge and experience in the grand jury.
The synergy that comes of those minds
conferring, discussing, exploring and investigating is nothing short of
inspiring. Clumsy, sometimes, but moving ever forward, in fits and starts in
the beginning, working toward a common end: getting it right.
As to securing expertise, the accident of
random selection seems to work there, too. There was a remarkable expanse of
skill and experience on the 2014-15 grand jury.
I just completed a year serving on that grand
jury. It was challenging, frustrating and rewarding.
One of the members had a Ph.D. Another was an
engineer. There was a retired Navy captain and another was a graduate of
Annapolis. One juror was a former law enforcement officer. There was also a
novelist, a former member of the news media and someone with a great deal of
knowledge about the Department of Homeland Security.
The 2014-15 grand jury also included an
attorney, a retired business executive and a former school board member.
Another taught high school classes and there was a former union business agent
in the mix. There was a stockbroker, social worker, county government employee
and a school district administrator. Three had served on previous grand juries.
The new 2015-16 grand jury is impaneled.
Applications for next year will be available in November. People who have the
time can find great value in participating in this important citizen oversight
of local government. It may be the one place politics does not get in the way.
July
14, 2015
San
Diego Source
By
George Hawkins
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