Congratulations to Aran O'Sullivan of Carlmont High School in Belmont, who is our 2023 $1,000 scholarship winner!

Our members, attendees at our annual Scholarship Luncheon, and donors made this happen. Below is Aran's winning essay, enjoy!

Essay:

            Civil grand juries play an invaluable role in the California political and legal system, commonly referred to as the “Watchdog” function. For each of the state’s 58 counties, a group of 19 (or 11 in smaller-population areas) carefully selected county citizens are empowered by state law to investigate the actions/operations of the various officers, departments, and agencies of local government. An important distinction to note is that civil grand juries are only granted jurisdiction over local government – not state or federal associations – with the only exceptions being investigations into state prison management and non-profit corporations. Furthermore, grand juries cannot make normative judgments about an agency’s policy decisions; their reports are solely focused on the methods and systems by which local government agencies perform their actions, not the efficacy or wisdom of said actions. In this way, it is reasonable to assert that civil grand juries serve as a third-party, objective check on the actions of local government. Should a government official or agency be engaged in some sort of corrupt behavior, these 19/11 ordinary citizens ensure – through investigation and report – that the general public is informed on such issues and the offending individuals are brought to justice.

            Naturally, the concept of grand juries is nothing new. Dating all the way back to 12th century England, a system akin to criminal grand juries was put in place wherein groups of citizens would bring charges against those accused of crimes and determine if criminal cases should go to trial. By 1215, grand juries were officially recognized by the Magna Carta. At this time, the notion of civil grand juries was beginning to take hold as well; excerpts from the Grand Inquest reveal how English grand juries investigated officials responsible for overseeing infrastructure projects and managing public jails. Given the value this system brought to English governing bodies, it should come as no surprise that grand juries eventually began to surface in the nation’s North American territories – by 1683, grand juries of some form could be found across all the American colonies. Despite the United States’ eventual break from its parent country, this aspect of the English government stuck: the country’s 5th Amendment to its new Constitution required that all felonies be charged by a grand jury indictment. As such, as all 50 states were ratified, each added some form of grand jury system to their state constitution – California’s, for instance, was adopted with the drafting of the original 1849-1850 constitution. Though grand juries continued to gain more investigatory powers throughout much of the US’s early history, following WWII, most states stopped employing the grand jury for civil matters. In fact, today, California is the only remaining state with a comprehensive, ongoing civil grand jury watchdog function!

            Thus, with the decline of civil grand jury systems throughout the United States, it has become all the more important to recognize and reflect on the value that these groups of citizens bring to our local government here in California. In an age proliferating with gross reputation politics, empty promises, and violent partisanship, there truly is a dire need for an objective, third-party review body that only has the best interests of the general public in mind. With political engagement diminishing and apathy on the rise, we need to preserve systems that ensure that the voice of everyday Americans – that democracy itself – is not lost. Civil grand juries do just this – they throw back the curtains on the actions of local government and hold our elected officials accountable when they engage in corrupt behavior. The title “watchdog”, then, cannot be dismissed as a symbolic one. Members of civil grand juries are truly the public’s watchdogs who embody the principles of American democracy – government for the people, by the people.