Every year, 19 citizens come together to address the public’s concerns regarding the operations of local government entities. This group, known as the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury, is appointed by the presiding judge of the superior court and commits to serving one year investigating governmental activities.
According to current foreman Ward Downs, the grand jury takes up investigations three ways. The first is through citizen complaints. The jury receives at least 30 complaints or more a year from the public, Downs said.
“We can’t take every complaint. Some of them are not valid. Some have not exhausted all of their alternatives,” Downs said. “Before they come to the grand jury they should check with an agency that should have jurisdiction over whatever their problem is.”
The jury will also take up investigations if the previous year’s grand jury was unable to complete an investigation.
“If a complaint comes in to us in May, there’s just not enough time because you have to interview people and get information,” Downs said. “A previous grand jury may suggest the next grand jury takes a look at it, but that grand jury has total say as to whether they want to go through with it or not.”
Another way the jury takes up an investigation is if one of the grand jury members have concerns.
The grand jury prioritizes the complaints, jury member concerns and incomplete investigations from the previous year and chooses which ones they would like to look into.
Then they spend the year investigating these concerns by conducting interviews, gathering documents and collecting data. By then end of the year grand jury members typically have conducted more than 100 interviews.
The jury also has subpoenaing power, and by law anyone summoned must appear before the jury or face a charge of contempt of court.
Through investigations the jury examines all aspects of county government, including schools districts, special assessment districts and detention facilities. They also investigate the administration and affairs of any city within the county.
From the investigation jury members develop a set of facts from interviews, documents and data collected. In order for information to become a fact, Downs said the grand jury has to get three sources to confirm it.
“If somebody says this guy is misusing the county car, well that’s not enough. We need two other forms of verification,” Downs said.
Once the facts have been determined the jury is able to identify the findings. According to Downs, identifying a finding s when the grand jury takes the set of facts and makes a judgment on them.
For any of the negative findings, the grand jury makes recommendations for addressing the issues. The findings and recommendations are laid out in a report released to the public after the investigation is completed.
The reports are reviewed by several committees within the grand jury, and must be approved by 12 out of 19 jury members before being released. The report must be sent to the agency under investigation at least two days before it is released to the public.
The number of investigations conducted by the grand jury varies. Last year, the jury conducted six investigations. Since 1999, the grand jury has conducted more than 115 investigations. Downs noted a memorable investigation the grand jury conducted in 2012-13. After investigating six of the county’s 21 group home operators who ran 28 of the 44 group homes in the county, the grand jury found that due to a lack of inspections by state and county agencies some of the operators had skirted state law and placed the youth at risk. As result of the investigation, the state devoted more money for inspectors.
Through its investigations the grand jury works very closely with the district attorney and the courts. Sometimes they jury may come across criminal activity in its investigations and when that happens, the jury forwards the matter to the district attorney.
In addition to conducting investigations, the grand jury is able to request presentations from various county agencies and visit agency facilities. Recently, jury members were able to participate in the public testing of the ballot scanners to ensure accuracy in the June 5 primary election.
According to Downs and grand jury vice forewoman Ruth Brown, becoming a part of the grand jury is a great learning experience and an opportunity to give back to the community.
“It’s been great getting to know everyone, meeting with everyone every week and doing what we can to help San Joaquin County,” Brown said.
Both agreed that being a juror is a huge time commitment that sometimes requires working up to 25 hours a week. Jury members are paid a modest salary of $15 per day for their efforts. The service also requires a lot of reading and writing as well.
“Grand jurors are like reporters in some way, or like teachers as well, but I’ve found in my years serving that almost all grand jurors share certain characteristics,” Downs said. “One is that they are curious. It’s a great way to learn about your community, and they want to give back. They care about the community and making it better.”
Downs and Brown said there is currently a need for diversity on the grand jury, noting that Asians and Hispanics are not well represented.
After going through several applications and conducting a series of interviews and background checks, the presiding judge of the superior court selects a pool of candidates. In June, a random drawing of nominated candidates is held in open court and the new grand jury is selected to begin its year of service on July 1.
In order to become a member of the civil grand jury one must be a citizen of the U.S,, be at least 18 years or older, be a resident of San Joaquin County for at least a year, possess intelligence, sound judgment and good character and have sufficient knowledge of the English language.
Those serving as a trial juror or grand juror in any court in California within the previous year are not eligible to join the civil grand jury.
Those serving as an elected official or who’ve been convicted of malfeasance in office or any other high crimes are also ineligible. Individuals can serve on the jury multiple times.
May 25, 2018
Lodi News-Sentinel
By Danielle Vaughn
No comments:
Post a Comment