Trouble recruiting new members to serve on Merced County’s civil grand jury every year has caused court officials to reinterpret the laws governing grand-jury selection.
Four Merced grand jurors are serving for a third consecutive year.
The state penal code section 901, however, says, “If the superior court so decides, the presiding judge may name up to 10 regular jurors not previously so named, who served on the previous grand jury and who so consent, to serve for a second year.”
The civil grand jury acts as a public watchdog, investigating and reporting on complaints about city and county governments, as well as school and special districts. But Merced struggles to find residents willing accept the role as a public watchdog, according to Linda Romero-Soles, chief executive officer of Merced Superior Court.
As a result, Romero-Soles said, Merced County has allowed four of the 19 jurors to serve beyond two years.
Other counties, including Madera, San Bernadino, Modoc and Nevada, have also interpreted the penal code to allow some jurors to serve beyond two years, she said.
“We’ve also checked with our attorneys as well,” Romero-Soles said.
Nineteen jurors were appointed to the 2015-16 civil grand jury, which included Jose Delgadillo, Katherine Graf, Roscoe “Jack” Jackson and Rick Scurich. Those four served on the 2014-15 and 2013-14 juries, according to court records.
The California Grand Jurors’ Association could not be reached for comment, but its website does address the penal code section.
“The code does not explicitly allow for service for more than two consecutive terms,” the website says. “However, a few courts allow a juror to sit for more than two years, so we recommend consultation with the court or grand jury’s legal advisor (sic) on this issue.”
The Merced County Counsel’s Office declined to discuss how the penal code could be interpreted as more than two years.
Merced Superior Court is looking at stepping up its outreach before gathering applications for next year’s civil grand jury, Romero-Soles said. Some potential jurors may not understand what the civil grand jury does and others can’t commit the time to it.
“We have to do a better job to try to get a bigger pool,” she said.
Alicia Ybarra, supervisor for Madera Superior Court’s jury division, said the grand jury there regularly keeps a juror on beyond two years. Typically, she said, the juror would serve two years and a number of months, but not three full years.
She said keeping some of the jurors with experience can be beneficial for the jurors new to the process. Madera County also has a tough time getting enough applicants, she said.
In Fresno and Mariposa counties, the respective civil grand juries have not kept jurors beyond two years, according to employees of each court. Fresno tends to get plenty of applicants, while the interest in Mariposa varies from year to year.
Thaddeus Miller: 209-385-2453, @thaddeusmiller
Merced Sun-Star
Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article29250091.html#storylink=cpy
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