By SUE FAGALDE LICK
Wanted: Citizens who are willing to devote unlimited hours at secret meetings to study the workings of Santa Clara County government agencies. One-year position; pays $20 a day, no benefits. Contact Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Thus might read a classified ad for members of the Santa Clara County grand jury, which is still taking applications for the 1996-97 panel. Orientation for prospective grand jurors will be held May 17, and the members will be selected June 21, taking their seats right after the current grand jury steps down.
Most citizens, when asked about the grand jury, will mention high-profile criminal indictments, such as the ones handed down in the O.J. Simpson case, but the Santa Clara County grand jury hasn't handled a criminal case since 1992. A separate grand jury is impaneled for criminal cases, selected from the regular juror rolls in the same way municipal and superior court jurors are selected. In most other counties and states, the regular grand jury handles both criminal and civic duties.
Santa Clara County's grand jury is the civil watchdog of the community. Its 19 members study the workings of the county's 14 cities, 43 school districts, 50-plus special districts and the many county agencies. Each year they publish their findings in a bound report, complete with recommendations for change.
Unique among government agencies, the grand jury operates in complete secrecy. City, county and educational boards are all governed by the Ralph M Brown Act, which requires them to post agendas and open their meetings to the public, but the grand jury is exempt. Even the county employees assigned to assist and advise the citizen jurors do not know what the jurors are working on.
The grand jury has virtually unlimited power to subpoena people and information, and it can choose to study any aspect of government. Its members are sworn to secrecy for life. Whatever disagreement goes on in their meetings stays there. They do not have to reveal their sources of information, and only the written report has to be made public.
Anyone who is eligible to vote and is fluent in English meets the stated qualifications for grand jurors. However, when one looks at the unwritten requirements and the occupations of those who make the cut, it becomes apparent we won't be seeing any busboys, laborers or receptionists on the panel.
Grand jurors can be recruited by the presiding judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court or recommended by other members, or they can volunteer. A team of judges chooses 30 finalists, looking especially for representatives from each supervisorial district and a good mix of age, gender and ethnic background. The presiding judge then draws the names of 19 people who become the next year's grand jury. Those not chosen are alternates, ready to fill in if a member drops out.
While a cross-section of society is desirable, the grand jury tends to be well-educated men and women retired from high-level academic, civic or corporate jobs. This year's list includes several electronics engineers, an attorney, a financial consultant, a real-estate agent and a social worker. Nearly all are retired.
Juror Brett Melendy, who served the last two years on the grand jury, is blunt about it. "Look at the photos. They're mostly old white men."
Only those who are retired or have very flexible jobs can afford to serve on the grand jury. Glorial Chacon, the grand jury's secretary, is honest with prospective grand jurors about the time commitment. Better they find out early than drop out partway through their term. On average, two members leave the grand jury each year for personal reasons and are replaced by alternates, Chacon said.
Guided by a manual prepared by previous grand jurors and with advice from the district attorney and the county counsel, the grand jury is self-governing. Its members meet all together once a week, then break into committees, with at least two committee meetings a week and work in smaller groups on their various projects.
Each year, they are mandated to tour the local penal institutions. They select other areas of study based on citizen complaints, their own observations or recommendations from previous grand juries. They sit in on city council and school board meetings, delve into county records and conduct interviews. "They're everywhere," Chacon said.
The secrecy is a burden they are willing to bear. If the grand jury did not work in secret, citizens might be reluctant to come forward with complaints or problems or to speak openly for fear of repercussions, Chacon said.
Superiror Court Judge Leonard Edwards, chairman of the Grand Jury Review Committee, added that because the grand jury has the power to change people's lives, it must work in secret until all the facts are known.
"You don't want to hurt innocent people," Juror Marian Melendy said. If witnesses know their testimony is confidential, they are more willing to talk freely, she said. "There ought to be someplace where people can come, and [the grand jury] is it."
The only outlet for grand jurors is to go out for coffee with their fellow members and talk. They can't say a word to anyone else, even their spouses. Melendy, whose husband is a veteran grand juror, said she can't even tell her husband where she is going for the day.
If there is disagreement among the grand jurors, the public will never hear about it. "We never speak as individuals," Weiss emphasized. "There are no minority reports."
Most grand jurors are generally pleased with their experience on the grand jury. Asked if they feel they accomplished anything, however, they reply with a qualified "in some cases."
But they do point to successes .
In its 1993-94 report, the grand jury expressed concern about the Santa Clara Valley Water District's plan to construct a new 170,000-square-foot administration building at a cost of $40.5 million. The jurors also questioned the district's debt-refinancing decisions and the fact that it seemed to rely heavily upon consulting contracts with outside engineering firms while it had a large number of engineers on its staff.
Before the grand jury report was published, the water district pared down its plans for a new headquarters building to 85,000 square feet for $18.5 million. The district moved to reduce its dependence on outside consultants and temporary employees, and it has not issued any new debt since the report in 1994.
The grand jury does have some power, Weiss said. Often, by the time the report comes out, the subjects have already begun to take care of the problems listed. However, sometimes the response is that "that's how things are, have been and will continue to be." All the grand jury can do then is come back and issue another report.
"The fact that there is a grand jury is important," Rains said. When members of the grand jury walk into a meeting, people know they're being watched. "The grand jury can be ignored year after year, but they ultimately begin to carry an impact," Rains said.
Copies of the Santa Clara County grand jury reports are available at public libraries and at the Superior Court offices. For information about the reports or service on the grand jury, call 299-3608.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, May 15, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.