Willow Glen Resident
News
Three Willow Glen residents selected for civil grand jury
By Laura Rheinheimer
Three Willow Glen residents will become part of the newly selected Santa Clara County civil grand jury.
Willow Glen residents Danforth E. Sturges, Patricia Flynn and Ernie Giachetti were among the 19 people chosen in late June to serve through June 2007, as the county's watchdog group for government agencies.
All three Willow Glen jurors have extensive ties to the community.
Giachetti and his wife, Marcia, have three grown children; the two oldest live in Willow Glen. When his wife and children heard about the grand jury, they said, "You'd be perfect for it," according to Giachetti.
"I've been a part of this community for almost 40 years," Giachetti said. After graduating from dental school at the University of the Pacific and Santa Clara University, he returned to the South Bay and has had his practice in Cupertino for 39 years. He has lived in Willow Glen for 33 years.
In Giachetti's case, this is not the first time he's applied for a spot on the civil grand jury.
"I put my name in last year, and I got to be the third alternate, but I never got called," Giachetti said.
Giachetti, whose dental practice is part-time, received a letter from the court urging him to apply again in 2006. He was able to forgo the interview process. He was not put off by the time commitment.
"My name was the first name to be picked," Giachetti said. "I figured I can plan my schedule around the meetings that take place every week."
Sturges was born and raised in Santa Clara County. He attended San José City College and spent time in and out of the county, with a 10-year stint in Germany.
Sturges retired in 2002 after working for Valley Village Retirement Community for 15 years.
Sturges spent much of his career in the area of law enforcement. He worked as a dispatcher for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department, and in Alviso and South Lake Tahoe. While living in Germany, he was a building manager for the Air Force passenger terminal at the Frankfurt airport.
He said his experience with the elderly and also as a child advocate in juvenile courts will give him a starting point for serving on as a civil grand jury member.
Flynn is a longtime Willow Glen resident with three grown children, who were born and raised in San Jose. She has lived in Willow Glen for almost 30 years.
Flynn said she will blend her experience in social work with her 25 years investigating insurance claims.
"It brings together two wonderful backgrounds," Flynn said.
The Santa Clara County residents, sworn in June 30, will be responsible for investigating complaints against county and city governments located within the county's 15 cities.
The new jury will convene in secret for the next 12 months and have access to government books and facilities. Only foreman Ron Layman can speak on the record for the group; the rest of the jury is sworn to secrecy for life.
The last two grand juries investigated a complaint that eventually led to a criminal investigation that brought indictments against Mayor Ron Gonzales, his budget aide Joe Guerra and Norcal Waste Systems. Although the new jury will not be involved in the case that has since gone to court, the events highlighted the importance of the group.
"Last year's civil grand jury was asked to serve in a criminal and civil grand jury capacity," said Gloria Alicia Chacon, the grand jury coordinator. Although it was unusual, serving in a criminal capacity is not outside the scope of what a civil grand jury is called to do, Chacon said.
Jurors get a small stipend of $20 per day and are reimbursed for travel expenses, but to Sturges, the chance to serve on the jury is a "position of honor." When the presiding judge asked why he wanted to be part of the civil grand jury, giving back to the community was part of his answer, Sturges said.
Giachetti agrees.
"In some respects it is an honor, but there is a terrific responsibility to come up with a fair judgment," Giachetti said.
More than 400 Santa Clara County residents applied to serve on the jury. Of those, 30 individuals were initially selected by the county's judges; from those 18 jurors were randomly selected through a lottery to serve. The remaining 12 include a juror from the previous year, and there are 11 alternates.
When the new jury takes over a mere half-hour after the last one is released, it starts almost immediately to investigate complaints, Chacon said.
The civil grand jury investigates both citizen and internal complaints, keeping the identity of both parties confidential. To pass any sort of action, 12 of 19 jurors must agree. With a group so diverse, jurors have to work hard to come to a consensus, Flynn said.
"We have to distinguish between personal vendettas and something that's really going on," Giachetti said. "The whole thing stands on the integrity of the jury."
