San Benito County Superior Court administrators are searching
for a few good jurors to fill vacancies on the 2005-2006 County
Civil Grand Jury, and have extended the July 1 deadline to do
it.
Hollister – San Benito County Superior Court administrators are searching for a few good jurors to fill vacancies on the 2005-2006 County Civil Grand Jury, and have extended the July 1 deadline to do it.
Although the 2004-2005 civil grand jury concluded its tenure and published its annual report last week, the 19 spots on the jury still haven’t been filled and only seven applications have been received, said Court Executive Officer Alex Calvo. No new deadline has been set, but as soon as a new jury is impaneled it will get to work.
Although some jurors on the former grand jury may be carrying over for another term, Calvo said it is unknown how many will be willing or able to commit to another year. The last grand jury had only 16 members because it never found 19 people willing to serve.
“What we want is people who are qualified and can make the time commitment,” Calvo said. “If we get 19 people who are willing to do this, we’ll be in good shape. We’re looking for the right people.”
That means anyone who is at least 18 years old, is a United States citizen, has been a county resident for at least one year, has not been convicted of a felony and has “ordinary intelligence and good character,” Calvo said.
Calvo said San Benito traditionally has a low turn-out rate for grand jurors, which is unfortunate considering the importance of the group, and usually doesn’t get a jury impaneled until August.
“It’s tough to find people,” Calvo said. “I think people are very busy in this community, and there’s some work involved and commitment.”
The jury, which serves for one year, is the watchdog arm of the court which fields complaints from citizens concerning city and county governmental agencies, investigates and researches the concerns and then reports back to the community what they find, Calvo said.
Grand jury members usually meet a couple of times a month, and depending on which subcommittee they choose to work on, can spend additional time investigating and researching particular topics. Subcommittees include city and county government, education, health and welfare, and law and justice, among others.
Jurors are paid $5 a day plus gas mileage for every day they work, Calvo said.
Calvo said anyone who is interested is asked to apply as soon as possible. Applications are available at the San Benito County Courthouse located at 440 Fifth Street, Room 205, or online at www.sanbenitocountygrandjury.org
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
