Throughout its term,
the Grand Jury receives complaints filed by citizens.
Serious consideration is given to each complaint, because the Grand Jury
represents the citizens while ensuring that local government operates in the
best interest of its citizens. Occasionally,
responding to a citizen complaint may prompt the Grand Jury to conduct a full
investigation of the subject matter of the complaint.
Due to legal or
discretionary reason, the Grand Jury may not necessarily investigate every
complaint it receives. For instance, the Penal Code prohibits the Grand Jury from
investigating a complaint if any of the following conditions apply to the
subject of the complaint.
It is currently
under litigation
It involves
agencies not located in the county
It involves
privately-held companies
It is a dispute
between private parties, or
It involves fiscal or administrative operation of the Superior Court
Furthermore, the Grand Jury considers several discretionary factors when deciding whether to investigate a complaint, such as:
Whether the facts
warrant an investigation
Whether there is
sufficient time to conduct a proper investigation, and
Whether the matter has been investigated by a previous Grand Jury
By law, citizen complaints filed with the Grand Jury must remain confidential, therefore the names of those citizens will not be used in the reports based on those investigations. Following are reports of the citizen complaints investigated by the 2000-2001 Grand Jury.