The Civil Grand Jury’s oversight jurisdiction is almost exclusively limited to local governments such as counties, cities, special districts, and school districts.
The Superior Court of
California in San Benito County is located at 450 Fourth Street in Hollister.
The court's website states the civil grand jury has two functions: Weighing
allegations of misconduct against public officials and acting as the public’s
“watchdog” by investigating and reporting upon various matters of county, city
and special district governments. File photo.
The Superior Court of
California in San Benito County is located at 450 Fourth Street in Hollister.
The court's website states the civil grand jury has two functions: Weighing
allegations of misconduct against public officials and acting as the public’s
“watchdog” by investigating and reporting upon various matters of county, city
and special district governments. File photo.
Information provided by
Roxy Montana, San Benito County Civil Grand Jury Foreman
The San Benito County
Civil Grand Jury is open for business and ready to receive correspondence from
the people of San Benito County.
The Civil Grand Jury’s
oversight jurisdiction is almost exclusively limited to local governments such
as counties, cities, special districts, and school districts.
It does not extend to
state or federal activities or to purely private organizations and people not
acting in a governmental capacity. The courts are state operations, not county;
they cannot be investigated.
Penal Code §919(c)
requires the Civil Grand Jury to inquire into the willful or corrupt misconduct
in office of public officers of every description within the county.
Topics for investigation
usually come to the Grand Jury by three basic avenues – a citizen’s complaint
or request for investigation form, topics suggested through the committee
process, or occasionally a reference from the immediate preceding jury.
Grand Juries operate under
a code of confidentiality, and are forbidden from divulging interviewees’
identities and source material. No information is ever revealed to an
interviewee, and names are never published in reports. The confidentiality of
interviewees and complainants is critical and required by law.
Verified facts must support
a Grand Jury’s findings, upon which its recommendations will rest. All findings
must be directly supported by factual material, and all recommendations must
flow from one or more findings.
Any final report is, of
course, a matter of public record, as are all agency responses
The principle element of
continuity is for a Grand Jury to review the responses to the prior Grand
Jury’s reports in order to: let the community know that someone is watching;
publicize the responses, giving credit where credit is due or admonishing an
agency that has been nonresponsive; and keep the public informed about the
continuous nature of Grand Jury work.
Benito Link
By Benito Staff
August 30, 2021
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