Just after retiring from writing and editing at The Fresno Bee (33 years) and Fresno State (seven), The Bee ran stories encouraging grand jury service.
To be a grand juror, you must be at least 18 years old, a county resident for a year, pass a criminal background check, understand English and have time to conduct thorough, unbiased investigations. I checked all those boxes, had writing and editing skills and also the encouragement (?) of my wife that my newly abundant presence at home wasn’t required 24/7.
After applying, I was interviewed by a judge, underwent a criminal background check and was invited to the empanelment in late June. My name wasn’t called, though. I had to wait until the following year to be seated and then I was held over for a second year and asked to be foreperson.
This isn’t a criminal grand jury that indicts bad folks. The civil grand jury scrutinizes local government, which was part of its appeal to me, although not everyone will find grand jury service appealing.
It’s time consuming, involves many meetings, and can be contentious. You work in a downtown Fresno meeting room that saw better days decades ago. You can’t tell anyone what you’re doing — even after you leave the grand jury. You sign the same financial disclosure statement required of people you investigate. Your compensation is the same paltry $15 a day, mileage reimbursement and free parking provided trial jurors.
From July 1 to June 30, jurors review and investigate complaints from citizens and fellow jurors. They visit jails, airports, law enforcement facilities, public works units and inspect the county’s only state prison — Pleasant Valley near Coalinga.
During investigations, jurors gather evidence, review documents, interview witnesses, draft findings and recommendations and write reports that must be reviewed by the County Counsel’s Office and the presiding judge of the Superior Court.
I appreciated how much I learned about local government, getting along with others and not jumping to conclusions. It’s hugely satisfying to illuminate questionable governance and to praise well-run government entities.
More difficult to live with is that jury recommendations may not be implemented. State law mandates responses 60 or 90 days after a report is published, but civil grand juries cannot compel action nor effectively follow up on responses that typically come after the grand jury no longer is seated.
Grand juries have historically relied on the news media to inform citizens about reports and to follow up on recommendations and on responses promising action.
In 2015, for example there was extensive media coverage of grand jury concerns about possible financial impropriety by the Parlier Unified School District superintendent.
District trustees dismissed the superintendent. Voters made school board changes. State investigators reported on numerous issues that the district has moved to remedy. Recently, the former superintendent was charged with misusing public funds.
However, coverage of grand jury reports and local government has declined with newsroom cutbacks. The 2017-18 grand jury report critical of Fresno County’s oversight of special tax-supported districts didn’t attract media coverage, although the county has 129 special districts — running everything from mosquito abatement to cemeteries — that take in millions of taxpayer dollars each year.
I doubt most of us know what they do with our money — or even what some do at all.
Since follow-up is key, the Fresno County chapter of the California Grand Jurors’ Association, made up of former grand jurors, hopes to better publicize grand jury reports and whether promised action has occurred.
Holding local government to account is an important and rewarding part of citizenship, which is why I’m reapplying and encouraging everyone to consider grand jury service.
March 1, 2019
The Fresno Bee
By Lanny Larson, resident of Clovis and president of the Fresno County Grand Jurors’ Association
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