BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1133
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1133 (Silva)
As Amended June 22, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |68-0 |(April 25, |SENATE: |32-0 |(July 1, 2011) |
| | |2011) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Seeks to address potential conflicts of interest in
civil grand jury investigations of government agencies.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires any grand juror who is a current employee, or a
former or retired employee last employed within the prior
three years by an agency within the jurisdiction of the civil
grand jury, to inform the superior court of that fact, and
recuse himself or herself from participating in any
investigation of that agency. This would include any
discussion or vote concerning a civil investigation of that
agency.
2)Clarifies that this provision is in addition to any local
policies or rules regarding conflict of interest for grand
jurors.
The Senate amendments clarify that the bill is in addition to
any local policies or rules regarding conflict of interest for
grand jurors.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This measure is sponsored by the Orange County Board
of Supervisors. The author notes in support that current law
does not address potential conflicts of interest for grand
juries exercising their civil investigative function. Instead
grand juries adopt their own rules and procedure on how to
address conflicts of interest. The author points to a past
situation where, "grand jurors, who were former employees of an
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agency being investigated, participated in the investigation �of
that agency]." According to the author, "�t]his created a
perception that there was a possible bias in the outcome of the
investigation." Thus, the author describes this bill as
necessary because, "whether the bias is founded or unfounded, it
taints the public's perception of the grand jury as a neutral,
unbiased arm of the judiciary."
This bill would place new restraints on which people could
perform grand jury investigations of government agencies.
Currently, there are a limited number of qualifications that a
person must meet to be a grand juror. A person must be at least
eighteen years old, a United States citizen, and must have lived
in the county where the grand jury is being impaneled for at
least a year prior to serving as a grand juror. A potential
grand juror must also be "in possession of his natural
faculties, �be] of ordinary intelligence, �be] of sound
judgment, and �be] of fair character." Current law provides for
the disqualification of a potential grand juror if that person:
is already serving as a trial juror in California, has been
discharged as a grand juror within one year, has been convicted
of "malfeasance in office or any felony or other high crime", or
if that person is currently serving as an elected public
officer.
The grand juror selection process varies by county. Grand
jurors either apply to serve or they are nominated to serve,
they are then interviewed by a presiding superior court judge
and selected to fill seats on the grand jury panel. The list of
potential grand jurors is required to be proportionally
representative of a county's population for each different ward,
judicial district, or supervisorial district. Currently, the
law provides that no one can challenge the makeup of grand jury
panels, although the court can disqualify potential grand jurors
for not meeting the limited qualifications.
The current lack of any statutory provisions against conflicts
of interest in civil grand juries has, the author notes, created
the possibility that government officials either currently
working for, or having recently worked for particular government
agencies might be responsible for investigating that agency.
According to the supporters of this bill, this has the potential
to damage public perception of the grand jury as a neutral and
unbiased body in California. By requiring each individual that
is working for, or has worked for a government agency being
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investigated by a grand jury in the past three years to indicate
that fact and recuse himself or herself from the grand jury, the
author and supporters of this bill believe these concerns can be
alleviated.
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001437