Happy New Year.
The blank canvas of 2024 is stretched out before you, waiting for you to paint a masterpiece.
What are your goals for the coming year.? A new car, a new house, more time with the family, less time with the family, travel, adventure, or maybe to lose some weight.
The betting here is that volunteering to be on jury duty for a whole year is not on the top, middle, or bottom of your list.
But for some of you, serving on the Riverside County Civil Grand Jury might be something to consider.
The truth is that the vast majority of citizens have no idea what the Civil grand jury is or what it does.
Each of California’s 58 counties are required to have a Civil grand jury.
Last June I finished two years of service on the Civil grand jury. My experience was interesting, educational, and rewarding.
Whenever I said I was serving on the Civil grand jury people gave me a look that said either “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” or “Why would you want to do something like that?”
Jurors are sworn to secrecy. So while I could explain what the Civil grand jury does, I could not discuss what we were doing.
Simply put, the Civil grand jury is the “watch dog” of county, with a charge to investigate and report on the operations of local government. Civil grand juries can investigate any aspect of local government, including efficiency of government operations, public safety, financial management and social services.
How does the grand jury decide what to investigate?
Media reports, interests of individual jurors and Citizen Complaints make up the majority of areas for investigation.
Each year the Civil grand jury issues reports that include their findings and recommendations. Last year the Riverside County Civil Grand Jury issued four reports on issues ranging from ambulance service in the county to government programs that deal with suicide prevention.
Those reports, and reports of previous Civil grand juries are published on-line at: https://rivco.org/civil-grand-jury .
That site also has more information on how to apply to serve on the Civil grand jury and how to file a Citizen Complaint.
This month the Riverside Superior Court will begin accepting application from qualified citizens interested serving as civil grand jurors for the period of July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.
Qualifications include being a Citizen of the United States, as least 18 years old and a resident of Riverside County for at least one year prior to July 1, 2024. Additional qualifications can be found on the website.
The grand jury serves a one-year term. Each July a new grand jury of 19 members is sworn in from among the qualified applicants from across the county. In addition, a group of alternate jurors is chosen. The alternates are available to fill spots on the grand jury throughout the year in case a member of the sitting jury resigns, usually for health or other personal reasons.
Jurors are limited to no more than two consecutive terms.
The Civil grand jury is made up of committees of three to four members. One person is selected by the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court to serve as the foreperson. Each committee is given areas of responsibility to monitor, question and investigate.
My first year I was assigned to a committee. My second year I was chosen to be the foreperson.
The grand jury typically meets from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday – Thursday each week. The office is not in a courthouse but in a non-descript office building in downtown Riverside.
Make no mistake, this is a full-time job. Jurors are paid $60 per day for their service and get reimbursed at the prevailing federal rate for their mileage. That’s important to know if you are going to make the drive from Southwest County to Riverside along Interstate-215.
No one gets rich, but that’s not why most people do it. Many of those who apply are retired individuals – although that is not required — who have time to give and want to continue to make an important contribution to their community.
On some days, depending on the scope of committee work, jurors travel to communities across the county to speak with city managers and city councils, police and fire chiefs, hospital administrators, various city and county employees and residents.
The majority of city and country employees I met were hard working, dedicated civil servants whose primary interest was serving county and city residents. I know that flies against a typical stereotype of government workers, but at least here in Riverside County, in my opinion, it’s true.
Serving on the Civil grand jury is not for everyone. However, for those with an interest in good government and how it operates, it can be eye-opening and very rewarding experience.
