HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11191996 - SD2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IOC-07 SE _ Contra
FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEEs Costa
DATE: November 4, 1996 ��sr"e6lj County
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SUBJECT: PROHIBITING THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE GRAND JURY
TO ADVISORY BOARDS, COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
ADOPT as a general policy of the County that:
1. Effective immediately, members of the current Civil Grand Jury should not be
appointed by the Board.of Supervisors to advisory boards, committees and
commissions while they are serving on the Civil Grand Jury.
2. Effective July 1, 1997, members of advisory boards, committees and
commissions who are selected as members of the Civil Grand Jury are
expected to resign from all advisory boards, committees and commissions to
which they were appointed by the Board of Supervisors during the time they
serve on the Civil Grand Jury.
BACKGROUND:
We believe strongly in the objectivity and independence of the Civil Grand Jury and
the need for it to remain as objective and independent as possible while it is doing
its work. We believe there is an inherent erosion of that objectivity and
independence if a member of the Grand Jury is also sitting on an advisory body
while serving on the Grand Jury. It would be difficult for a member of the Grand Jury
to always separate what he or she may have learned as a member of the Grand Jury
from what he or she may have learned as a member of an advisory body and to act
accordingly. Individuals behave differently when speaking to or in front of a member
of the Grand Jury than when speaking with other individuals. The Committee is
concerned primarily with third parties' "perception" of lack of objectivity.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUN Y ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE THER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
The Reverend Curtis Timmons, MCRA, P.O. Box 8213, Pittsburg, commented on the issues.
All persons desiring to speak having been heard, the Board APPROVED Recommendation No.l
amended to apply implementation to°future members of the Grand Jury, and Recommendation No.2.
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES:-T 0 Il IV4 V NOES: I i AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
ATTESTED November 19 , 1996
Contact: County Administrator PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
cc: County Counsel SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMI IST ATOR
Presiding Judge of the Superior Court
Foreman, 1996-97 Grand Jury
Executive Officer, Coordinated Trial Courts of ContDEPUTY
IOC-07
Our Committee has had two cases in the past few weeks where applicants for
advisory bodies were already members of the current Civil Grand Jury. We believe
that, regardless of how wMI qualified an individual may be, we should not appoint
members of the Grand Jury to advisory bodies while they are serving on-the Grand
Jury. Likewise, we believe that if a member of an advisory body is selected for the
Grand Jury, that individual should resign from all advisory body seats while serving
on the Grand Jury. We are, therefore, recommending that the Board of Supervisors
adopt the policy statement outlined above.
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