To qualify for the Mendocino County Grand Jury, you must have been a resident
of the County for a year or more, you must be literate in English, you must not
be an elected public official, and you must not ever have been convicted of
malfeasance in office or a felony.

County residents who wish to serve on the Grand Jury may download an
application from this website. Ginny Holmen, at the Superior Court, will also
mail out applications if requested. She can be reached at (707) 467-6437.
Grand Jurors serve as members of the full panel of 19 and on three to four
committees, some “internal”, for example, the Edit committee which prepares
reports for distribution, and “external” committees which investigate complaints
from citizens in areas such as public safety and health issues.

The full panel meets generally once a month to hear from the committees and to
approve actions that require full panel approval (all actions require at least 12
votes for approval) including the issuing of reports. Sub-committees, particularly
the external ones, meet as much as once a week. The time commitment for
grand jury service varies with the number and nature of committees served on,
but averages 15 to 20 hours per week.

The Grand Jury has its own offices in Ukiah, near the Courthouse, but committee
meetings can be held elsewhere at the convenience of jurors.

Jurors are compensated for their work, at the rate of $25 per full panel meeting
and $10 for a committee meeting, as well as committee attendance at public
meetings. In addition jurors are reimbursed for mileage driven in their own cars
and for lunch.

The experience of serving on the Grand Jury has been rewarding for most of
those who have served, as demonstrated by the high number who choose to
serve for more than one year. Jurors agree that they learn a tremendous amount
about local issues, and that the work they do is both enjoyable and meaningful.