STOCKTON — The foreman of the San Joaquin County civil grand jury is worried that the work his 19-member panel undertakes each year is not being taken seriously by various governing agencies. He’s also concerned there’s a lack of diversity on the jury.
Howard Seligman aired his worries Tuesday as he accepted a proclamation from the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors declaring February “Grand Jury Appreciation Month.”
Each year, the grand jury addresses citizens’ concerns regarding the operation of local government entities.
Some of the grand jury’s duties include inquiring into the condition and management of county prisons; investigating and reporting on the operations, accounts and records of city and county offices and departments; investigating allegations of willful or corrupt misconduct of public officials; investigating the activities of all school and special assessment districts within the county; and submitting a final report of its findings and recommendations to the presiding judge of the Superior Court.
Seligman, who is serving a second year on the grand jury, said once its report is released, it appears that many agencies or subjects of investigation don’t take any recommendations or suggestions into consideration to rectify any findings made.
“One thing that concerns me is that with all of our efforts, all of our reports and all of our recommendations, there’s really nothing at this point that can generate positive action on behalf of the agencies that are being investigated,” Seligman said. “This concerns me because of the time we spent, the issues we have, the documents we review. I’m concerned that much of it is swept under the rug once the reports are made.”
Supervisors, however, said many of the boards and commissions they’ve served on read the grand jury’s reports thoroughly.
Supervisor Kathy Miller said last year’s grand jury report directly impacted the development of the board’s code of ethics adopted in August.
Many sections of language were lifted from the report, she said, and included in the code of ethics document.
“I know that it may sometimes seem as though (reports) aren’t taken seriously, but for many of us, we take them very seriously,” she said. “We do read them, and we do make good faith efforts to apply a lot of the recommendations.”
Seligman also expressed concern for the lack of diversity on the 19-member investigative team.
There is one black member and one Latino member on this year’s panel, he said. Last year there were three black members, he said.
“That does not bode well for having a diverse group elected to be on the grand jury, and really does not bode well for seeing to it that our entire county is represented by the diverse population that we have,” Seligman said.
I’m hopeful that efforts will be made in the future to see to it and to encourage minorities to apply for this position to lend their input, their opinions and their suggestions,” he added. “Without diversity, it really raises serious issues to the effectiveness that we make.”
According to the civil grand jury page on the San Joaquin County Superior Court’s website, questionnaires are mailed randomly to county residents offering a seat on the panel.
Responses from those interested and who meet legal requirements to serve on the grand jury are then placed in a pool from which the presiding Superior Court judge may nominate a juror.
The pool may also include residents who did not receive a questionnaire but submitted written applications to serve.
All candidates are interviewed and go through a background check before the jury is selected.
By June, a random drawing of nominated candidates is held in open court and a new grand jury is selected to begin its year of service on July 1.
Jose Alva, the grand jury’s presiding judge, urged supervisors to think of the variety of people and cultures that live in their districts when nominating jurors for next year’s panel.
“How many people and supporters do you have that are from all walks of life and all that diversity?” he asked. “Pull out all those slips of all those members you have and nominate them. Let’s get some diversity on this grand jury.”
Letters of nomination were mailed to elected officials on Monday, according to Superior Court Executive Officer Rosa Junquiero.
Gary Spaugh, president of the San Joaquin chapter of the California Grand Jury Association, said his group has heard Seligman’s concerns regarding diversity.
“We believe in that, and we’ve adopted that as one of our goals,” he said. “(The goal is) to help go into different communities to bring out applicants who can then apply and represent the broader range of our community in this capacity.”
Board Chairman Moses Zapien on Tuesday afternoon said there was great value in having the county’s diversity reflected in all of its civic institutions, including the grand jury.
“One of the many strengths of our county is its diversity,” he said. “We are a community of people having different backgrounds, talents, occupations and cultures. Having residents with varying experiences brings new perspectives on the important work of the people and strengthens relationships within our various communities.”
February 9, 2016
Stockton Record
By Wes Bowers
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