YUBA CITY — The Sutter County Board of Supervisors last week signed a letter asking the California attorney general to look into the resignations of all grand jury members from the last term.
Chairman Dan Flores and vice-chairman Mat Conant wrote that the purpose of the letter was to make Attorney General Xavier Becerra aware of the issues raised by concerned citizens and, if appropriate, asks for a review of the 2017-18 Sutter County grand jury process.
“The Board of Supervisors has been apprised by the Sutter County Superior Court that the Grand Jury process and the report are confidential. Consequently, the Board is unable to respond to the requests for information,” the letter states. “The Board is unaware of any wrongdoing by the court, grand jurors, county staff, or anyone else associated with this process.”
In a June 25 letter addressed to judges Brian Aronson and Sarah Heckman, the jurors wrote that they resigned in protest “as we were prevented from fulfilling our duty as watchdog for Sutter County.” The letter was provided to the Appeal-Democrat from the Sutter County Superior Court.
No members of the 2017-18 grand jury attended the June 29 empanelment of the new grand jury, and Judge Heckman said they elected to not publish a report this year. The Board of Supervisors, the city of Yuba City and other affected departments received portions of a preliminary report, but they are prohibited by the penal code from releasing its contents.
Sutter County spokesman Chuck Smith said the letter from supervisors reflects the frustration expressed by all board members about their inability to respond to constituent questions about the issue.
Assemblyman James Gallagher, a Republican from Yuba City, also weighed in by penning a letter to the attorney general.
“It is in the public interest to ensure that there was no improper influence of the decision to not publish the report or make redactions,” Gallagher wrote. “The Sutter County Grand Jury has published a report every year since 2001, and if a report is not published, the community deserves to know the circumstances that (led) to this decision and whether or not the legal process was followed accordingly.”
Gallagher also included four questions he believes should be addressed and answered publicly:
• Why was the 2017-18 grand jury report not published?
• Did the supervising judge require redactions and, if so, did the required redactions comply with Penal Code 929?
• What, if any, communications were made by outside parties to the grand jury prior to its decision to not publish the report, and were any of these communications unlawful or improper?
• Was a preliminary report distributed to affected Sutter County agencies pursuant to Penal Code 933.05(f)? If so, is it required for this preliminary report to be made available to the public?
Yuba City is also drafting a letter to the attorney general, which the City Council will consider at its Aug. 21 meeting. The city received portions of a draft report directly related to city operations, which the city manager reviewed and implemented actions as recommended, said city spokesman Darin Gale.
On Monday, Sacramento attorney representing the county denied an Appeal-Democrat Public Records Act request for emails from County Counsel Jean Jordan pertaining to the grand jury, stating the documents are protected from disclosure by “attorney-client privilege, attorney work product doctrine, deliberative process and official information privileges.”
In a letter last month, local private attorneys Jesse Santana and Chris Carlos requested a copy of the unpublished report, saying they believe it contains material pertinent to clients they represent.
August 11, 2018
Chico Enterprise-Record
By Rachel Rosenbaum, Marysville Appeal-Democrat
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