El Dorado County to Have Grand Jury Again; 19 Jurors Needed

After being dissolved in February of 2013 due to 14 of the 19 members resigning, the El Dorado County Grand Jury is once again being formed.

The announcement comes on the tail of a news release being printed in a Placerville newspaper entitled "Public Election for Reinstatement of Grand Jury." The group who published that news release has no connection to the actual El Dorado County Grand Jury, nor are they involved in any way with the process of impaneling the El Dorado County Grand Jury. Under further investigation, there are press releases with the same message being circulated in many other jurisdictions around the county. A group calling themselves the National Liberty Alliance wants to establish so-called “common law grand juries” in every county and state in the Union according to their website.

The contents of the Placerville article read: “Whenever people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” — Thomas Jefferson

"An election for the reinstating of the Common Law Grand Jury in El Dorado County will be held at 4025 Lochaber Drive, Shingle Springs, on Wednesday, March 26 at 12 p.m. There will be a 35-minute presentation starting at noon and a vote by showing of hands will be at 12:35 p.m. All participants will then be invited to register for the Common Law Grand Jury".

This is not how the official Grand Jury is decided upon.

The Grand Jury is an investigatory body created for the protection of society and the enforcement of the law. It is an arm of the Court and a representative of the public. Although it is an arm of the Court, it operates independently of direct Court supervision. It is a check against governmental authority. It is not a branch of the County, nor is it answerable to the District Attorney. The Grand Jury acts as an investigative body to ensure that county, special district, and city government is being effectively run. The Grand Jury is not a jury for a trial. Typically the Jury looks at systems and processes. The Jury has no enforcement authority; it can only make recommendations, through publication of a final report.

To be considered for the El Dorado County Grand Jury, one must be over 18 years of age, been an El Dorado County resident for at least one year and cannot currently hold an elected office. Applications will be accepted until May 2 and terms will begin on July 1, 2014. Jurors can expect to serve two days a week totaling 7 hours of time for a rate of pay of $15 per day and gas reimbursement.