Donna Tam/The Times-Standard
Posted: 02/21/2011 01:27:12 AM PST
Jurors throughout the state of California are getting a glimpse of the Humboldt County Courthouse through a new grand jury recruitment video being played in at least 10 counties.
A small new juror applicant pool prompted California Grand Jury Association President and former Humboldt County grand jury foreman Keath North to write a script for a new grand jury video.
”It started with our concern for dwindling public awareness of the grand jury system,” North said.
The recruitment period for new jurors is from February to May, and the local grand jury has received 12 new applicants for the 2012-2013 year. North said the jury aims to have a range of 30 or so applicants in order to have a diverse pool of applicants for the 19-seat jury.
The video, which was filmed, directed and edited by Access Humboldt, featured local current and former grand jurors on site at the courthouse. It is already playing in 10 county courthouses and North said there have been requests from more counties.
According to the California Grand Jury Association, the state constitution requires each county to impanel a civil grand jury every year to investigate and report upon the conduct of local government. The civil grand jury looks into citizen complains and is authorized to investigate county and city governments, elected officials, special districts, jails, service districts and nonprofit agencies that receive public funding.
At the end of the fiscal year, the civil grand jury submits a final report to the superior court and the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.
In Humboldt, the grand jury has investigated various citizen complaints, including the county budget management, law enforcement procedures and the handling of high-profile cases such as Martin Cotton's 2007 death while in the county jail and the internal review of the now-defunct Blue Lake Police Department.
McKinleyville High School teacher Allan Edwards, a former juror, said the grand jury has also looked into fraud related to the establishment of an online charter school and the building of the Bayshore Mall on unstable ground. The grand jury report resulted in the developer making the structure earthquake ready.
”This is the kind of stuff the grand jury looks at -- the waste of public money,” Edwards said. “The oversight committees don't have the power of subpoena. The system is there.”
Edwards, who played a judge in the informational video, served on the grand jury from 2004 to 2006. He said he joined after he retired, but he was called back to work. He plans to apply to serve when he retires again.
Grand jurors serve for one year at a time and must commit up to two days a week. North said it is a big commitment but a rewarding one.
”It's a vehicle where an average citizen can not only have input in the local government but also learn a whole lot about how it all works,” North said.
For more information or to view the video, visit www.cgja.org.
Donna Tam can be reached at 441-0532 or dtam@times-standard.com.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_17442116?nclick_check=1
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_17442116
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