A recent chance encounter with an old friend has got me thinking again about the civil grand jury. We had met when we were serving together on the Contra Costa County civil grand jury. He had signed up for a second term when our term of service ended. And now, several years later, he said he was back on the jury again.
He told me there was a shortage of qualified volunteers, which surprised me because it’s so easy to qualify. You just have to be an English-speaking U.S. citizen 18 or more years old with a clean criminal record who’s lived in the county for at least one year. Really, that’s all it takes to sign on for a year of service that could change your life.
The shortage of volunteers is a sad state of affairs for anyone interested in the effectiveness and integrity of local government, because that’s what the civil grand jury is for. California is the only state that still has a civil grand jury system in place. Each of our 58 counties empanels a jury of ordinary citizens to serve for one year under the auspices of the state Superior Court. Jurors are authorized to look into every aspect of local government, launch formal investigations and file reports with recommendations that local government agencies are required to address.
It’s hard work, but it’s very fulfilling for the jurors who learn the intricacies of government and enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow jurors and the satisfaction of knowing that their work is improving people’s lives.
It’s essential for the public to have what one former grand jury foreman called a “last watchdog” on local government. Especially in an era when local newspapers are reducing staff and lack the resources to keep their traditional eye on city hall, civil grand juries fulfill a vital oversight function in our local communities.
And they make a difference. Recently, for example, after grand juries in Alameda and Contra Costa found that more than 17 million BART riders rode the system annually without paying fares, costing the system more than $25 million in uncollected fares, BART has begun to modify its entrance gates so that they are harder to evade. In Santa Clara, a civil grand jury investigation found ethical lapses in the relationships between some city council members and the management of Levi’s Stadium that led to the filing of criminal charges against one council member.
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Many more examples of positive change have sprung from grand jury investigations into local government agencies responsible for our schools, transportation, police and fire protection, public health, water, environmental protection and numerous other activities. And anyone who meets the basic minimum qualifications can participate.
If there’s something about local government that’s been bothering you or if you’d just like to see government work better, you should consider volunteering for your county’s civil grand jury. Recruitment for next year’s grand jury session takes place during February and March. Information and applications are available online. To find them, just search “civil grand jury” and the name of your county.
Peter Magnani is a member of the Contra Costa chapter of the California Grand Jurors Association.