Calaveras County grand jury report delayed by COVID-19

Many grand juries throughout the state are postponing the release of their annual reports due to complications from the coronavirus, and Calaveras County’s grand jury is one of them.

This year is the first in recent history that the Calaveras County Grand Jury has not released its report on its June 30 deadline.

Current Grand Jury Foreperson Larry Abernathy told the Enterprise that the jury was initially “humming along” despite COVID-19, utilizing video conference calls to finish the majority of their 2019-20 report, which has been in the works since July 1, 2019.

 “The reason we didn’t slow down is that the court is an essential service, therefore we are essential,” Abernathy said.

However, getting the report reviewed by county counsel and a judge has been a slower process.

Abernathy said the county superior court and board of supervisors have approved the extension of the grand jury’s term to a calendar year schedule, with the new deadline for the complete report now set for Dec. 31. The jury still plans to release sections of the report throughout the coming months as they are finalized.

“When we made the decision, I heard we were one of two hold-outs (in the state),” said Abernathy, who stressed that the jury was initially determined to get the report finished on time, despite the roadblocks and the extensions granted to many other grand juries during the pandemic.

“There’s a saying that goes, ‘There’s 58 different ways of doing things in California – 58 different counties,” said Marsha Caranci, board member and chair of the training committee for the California Grand Jurors Association (CGJA).

According to Caranci, there are less than a dozen counties in which the 2019-20 grand jury has been dismissed and a new one empaneled, while others are moving to a calendar year schedule or simply delaying the process a few months, effectively shortening the term for the next grand jury.

Caranci said superior courts in each county are providing leeway in the state constitution for handling their grand juries and setting terms.

Calaveras Enterprise
by Dakota Morlan
July 16, 2020