The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury is still searching for alternates who can serve on this year’s panel, if needed, to carry on a civil oversight tradition that dates back to the Magna Carta.
According to a news release from the Humboldt County Superior Court, which appoints a group of residents each year to act as “watchdogs” of local government, the grand jury is desperately in need of more volunteers to “act as an independent body of the judicial system.”
“Although the term has already begun and the members are empaneled, if and when vacancies occur during the term of service alternates will be needed,” the release states, noting the court “encourages applications from citizens representing a broad cross-section of the Humboldt County community.”
As the Journal has previously reported, filling seats on the panel that wields the power of the subpoena with a mandate enshrined in the California Constitution has become a challenge in the recent years, part of a decade-long downward trend in applications.
The civil grand jury does not hear criminal cases but is instead primarily charged with investigating and reviewing “citizen complaints concerning the operations of city and county government as well as other tax supported and nonprofit agencies and districts,” the release states.
“Based on these reviews, the grand jury publishes its findings and reports recommending constructive actions to improve the quality and effectiveness of our local government,” the court release states.
The reports from last year’s jury, released in July, covered a wide range of topics, including: conditions at the Sempervirens Psychiatric Health Facility, areas with potential “critical choke points” in case of a life-threatening disaster, life-saving “paw-tnerships” between the Humboldt Animal Shelter and rescue networks, and the success of an inmate voting program in the jail.
In the 2023-2024 session, the jury similarly cover a lot of ground, including a report that was sharply critical of the Eureka City Schools Board of Trustee’s lack of transparency and due diligence in its handling of a now defunct deal to sell the former Jacobs School site to a mystery developer at the 11th hour.
For more information about the application process or other questions, call (707) 269-1204. Applications can also be found online here.
