District Attorney John Sarsfield has been researching whether
the criminal grand jury can hold its inquiry into the contested
county supervisor race between Bob Cruz and Jaime De La Cruz in
public.
District Attorney John Sarsfield has been researching whether the criminal grand jury can hold its inquiry into the contested county supervisor race between Bob Cruz and Jaime De La Cruz in public.
Though Sarsfield said there was a possibility the June 1-3 hearing can be held in an open session, it doesn’t appear likely that the grand jury case, in this instance, can meet the legal requirements to be opened to the public. Still, we applaud Sarsfield’s effort to get some sunshine on the process.
And, we encourage him to make as much of the case public as is possible through release of documents and interviews with the press.
Elections are the most sacred of American institutions and are the backbone of our society. The strength of all governments – from cities and counties up to the federal government – is that they open the process to include the public. Laying out the case publicly will give voters and the community an opportunity to judge whether it is worth the expenditure of time, energy and resources.
There have been accusations that more than 20 absentee ballots were delivered improperly to the elections office, including four by the De La Cruz campaign, and accusations that the election office accepted the ballots when it shouldn’t have.
Sarsfield has declined to discuss the specifics of the case, including what possible charges there may be. But a criminal grand jury only convenes when there is a possibility of a felony indictment. If an indictment turned into a conviction in this instance, it could change the outcome of the race because a candidate can’t be seated if he is convicted of a felony, according to Sarsfield.
The public deserves to understand the process that could change the results of an election in which it voted. The public also needs to see how the candidates and the election office behaved during the election.
So, Mr. Sarsfield, let the public know as much about the case as is possible. With all the turmoil surrounding this election, the public deserves some disclosure.
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