General Information about the Civil Grand Jury
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History
The U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment and the California Constitution call
for Grand Juries.
California authorizes both civil and criminal grand juries. The
information on this website applies only to civil grand juries.
California authorizes a civil Grand Jury to be impaneled annually and to be
in session continuously. Grand Juries have played an important role in Mendocino
County’s history for over 144 years.
The Grand Jury is fundamentally an instrumentality of the courts of the state
and under the general supervision of the Superior Court. However, the Superior
Court must respect the Grand Jury’s independence of judgment and the court has
no authority to either impose its own views on the Grand Jury or to suppress a
report unless the Grand Jury has acted unlawfully. It is created for the
protection of society and the enforcement of the law.
Functions
A civil Grand Jury has two functions:
- Acting in a public “watchdog” capacity by reviewing and reporting on the
affairs of local government. Most of an average modern Grand Jury’s time is
spent reviewing local agencies and units of government.
- Investigating formal complaints from citizens against public officials and
local agencies and units of government for misconduct in office.
Scope of Investigative Powers
“Watchdog” Responsibilities
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Investigate and report on the operations, accounts, and functions of:
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County officers, departments, and special legislative districts governed by
county officers in their ex-officio capacity;
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City officers and departments;
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Joint Powers Agencies and officers;
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Special purpose assessing or taxing districts locally wholly or partly within
the county;
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Local Agency Formation Commission;
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Any nonprofit corporation established or operated on behalf of a public
entity;
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Redevelopment Agencies;
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Housing Authority;
- Schools Districts and Boards of Education
- Investigate and report on the needs for the increase or decrease of salaries
of the county elected officials.
- Investigate and report upon the needs of all county officers in the county,
including abolition or creation of offices and equipment for, or the method or
system of, performing the duties of the several offices.
- Inquires into the conditions and management of the public prisons within the
county.
- Inquire into the willful or corrupt misconduct in office of public officers
of every description within the county.
- Investigate and inquire into all sales and transfers of land, and into the
ownership of land which, under state laws, might or should escheat to the State
of California.
Response to Complaints
Any individual may file a complaint with the Grand Jury about the conduct of
local agencies or units of government and public officials, whether elected or
appointed. Anyone may ask for an investigation of alleged misconduct.
Because names are never used in Grand Jury Final Reports, individuals’
confidentiality is protected.
Throughout a complaint investigation, all information received by the
Grand Jury is kept in strict confidence and secrecy. Absolutely nothing may be
disclosed by a Juror, even after his/her term is ended. It is a misdemeanor for
a Grand Juror to disclose evidence presented to the Grand Jury or of
conversations, deliberations, and votes of Jurors (Penal Code 924.1).
For more information about the Complaint Process and about filing a
Complaint, click here:
Grand Jury Complaint
Process
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