News Release

Superior Court of California

County of San Francisco
CONTACT:
Ann E. Donlan Gordon Park-Li, Chief Executive Officer
415.551.5957
adonlan@sftc.org

Release Date:
March 20, 2008

WATCHDOGS WANTED: SAN FRANCISCO SUPERIOR

COURT SEEKS CIVIL GRAND JURY APPLICANTS
SAN FRANCISCO – The Honorable David L. Ballati, Presiding Judge of the San

Francisco Superior Court, is urging County residents who want to make a lasting and

meaningful contribution to good government to apply for service on the Court’s “watchdog”

grand jury.

“As representatives of the public, civil grand jurors have the authority during a year-

long term to investigate the panel’s choice of issues related to the operations of County and

City officers, departments and agencies,” Judge Ballati said. “During these investigations,

the grand jury may conduct audits, interview public officials and inspect government

facilities before making public recommendations for remedies and reforms.”

California is among a handful of states that have grand juries at the county level. In

California, the state Constitution requires each County to have at least one grand jury

empanelled at all times.

“Grand juries in California have unique and independent powers to investigate local

government operations,” said Jack McNulty, President of the San Francisco Chapter of the

California Grand Jurors’ Association. “We urge County residents to offer their service to

investigate and make recommendations to improve government services and operations.”

The application deadline is April 18. Eligibility requires applicants to be U.S. citizens

who are at least 18 years old. Applicants also must have lived in the City and County for at

least one year, among other requirements. More information about the civil grand jury and

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applications are available at www.sfgov.org/site/courts. More information also may be

obtained by calling Gary Giubbini at 551.3605 (weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.) or

at ggiubbini@sftc.org.

The civil grand jury’s upcoming term runs from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.

After initial screening, eligible applicants are interviewed before Superior Court judges select

a pool of 30 jurors. The 19 members of the grand jury are then selected randomly, with the

remaining 11 individuals serving as alternates.

Generally, applicants must be prepared to devote at least 15 hours per week to civil

grand jury service. The entire panel typically meets at the Civic Center Courthouse from

5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays, and separate committee meetings are scheduled as

necessary.

ATTENTION MEDIA: For interviews with former grand jurors, please contact

Ann E. Donlan at adonlan@sftc.org or 551.5957.

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