What We Do
We provide the general public with information and educational materials and activities on the California Civil Grand Jury system that will help increase public awareness of the valuable role the civil grand jury plays in our democratic system of government.
We provide comprehensive training on all subjects relative to empaneled civil grand juries available to all 58 counties within California including civil grand jury training as well as specific workshops on key topics relevant to civil grand jury service.
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Find valuable information on these subjects
Civil Grand Jury Resources
Here you can find sample documents, templates, examples of well-written reports, links to local government resources,
and FAQs.
Our Annual Conference
Every year in the fall, CGJA holds an Annual Conference and Membership Meeting to provide an opportunity for members and civil grand jurors to meet and discuss experiences and hear from speakers and panels on relevant topics of interest.
Chapter Resources
Includes chapter resource documents, suggested activities for chapters, guidance for forming a chapter along with templates.
Get Involved
Join CGJA as an active member, volunteer for CGJA, become a civil grand juror, join a chapter, or support us through a tax deductible donation.
Grand Jurors' Journal
This bimonthly journal is a major source of information about the civil grand jury system and recent updates on CGJA activities of interest to our members.
CGJA and California's Civil Grand Jury System
Learn about CGJA and details about California’s unique system of civil grand juries.
Our Awards
Annual awards recognizing civil grand jury reporting and media coverage along with the Angelo Rolando Service Award.
We can help you become
an effective civil grand juror
CGJA conducts training seminars for civil grand jurors and alternates on their various civil functions. These seminars include twelve full hours of presentations and over 300 pages of training materials. Experienced and highly qualified trainers who have served as civil grand jurors or grand jury legal advisors present these programs locally, throughout the state as “onsite” seminars or via Zoom if Covid-19 restrictions exist.
We also conduct Foreperson and Pro Tem Workshops, Legal Advisors’ Workshops, and Report Writing Workshops.
Stay Updated with Civil Grand Jury News
UCLA Group urges the Shasta County Ciivil Grand Jury to consider removing Shasta County Clerk.
Opposition is mounting against Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis, with one California voter organization, supported by gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, requesting that the Shasta County Grand Jury remove the embattled clerk from office.
In a letter from the UCLA Voting Rights Project to the Shasta County Grand Jury on Sept. 9, the organization cast doubt on Curtis' ability to administer the Nov. 3 general election, and attempted to lay the groundwork for his removal as ROV. The letter alleged numerous violations of California government and election code by Curtis, and urged the grand jury to initiate a removal effort.
“It sets a dangerous precedent if Mr. Curtis was allowed to employ the authority of his office to cast suspicion on an election he administered, certified, but then lost,” said Sonni Waknin, senior voting rights counsel at the voting rights project, in the statement. “With another election approaching, Shasta County voters deserve an elections office that follows the law, protects the chain of custody, and administers every ballot with professionalism and transparency.”
The letter was signed by several high ranking members of the voting rights project, including Becerra, the senior legal adviser.
The letter alleged that Curtis has made three primary violations of California election and government code.
• The first is that Curtis, in the act of securing ballots from the November 2024 election and June 2 primary election in hopes of turning them over to the federal government for investigation, is "knowingly and fraudulently acting in contravention of" election code, which prohibits ballots from being taken from the custody of an election official.
• The second alleged violation is that Curtis, having directed an elections employee to remove and copy documents containing sensitive voter information and store the copies elsewhere in the elections office, may have violated government code which prohibits government records from being stolen, removed, secreted, destroyed, mutilated, defaced, altered or falsified.
• The third is that Curtis, in taking campaign-related phone calls during county work hours, violated government code which prohibits a local official from using public resources for "campaign activity."
An investigation conducted by Oppenheimer Investigations Group found that Curtis engaged in "at least one campaign-related phone call during county hours."
The letter cited government code 3074 as justification for Curtis' removal, which allows an "officer" to be removed from office by a grand jury for "willful or corrupt misconduct," whether done intentionally or out of neglect.
The voting rights project clarified in their letter that removing Curtis from office does not require him to be criminally charged of violating these laws.
"These acts need not be criminal, as explained above, but demonstrate that Registrar Curtis acts below the standards of decency expected of a Registrar of Voters in California. These willfully indecent acts justify the Grand Jury to initiate removal proceedings."
The letter also urged the Shasta County Board of Supervisors to support a removal effort.
Supervisor Chris Kelstrom had no comment on the matter when reached on Sept. 9.
Neither Curtis, the Shasta County Grand Jury, nor Supervisors Kevin Crye or Matt Plummer responded to requests for comment before deadline on Sept. 9.
UCLA group urges grand jury to consider removing Shasta County Clerk Clint Curtis
www.msn.com
The University of California, Los Angeles' Voting Rights Project is asking the Shasta County grand jury to consider removing Clerk and Registrar of Voters Clint0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Santa Clara VTA response to the Santa Clara County CGJ report
kioncentralcoast.com/news/top-stories/2026/09/04/vta-defends-its-plan-to-extend-bart-to-downtown-...
By KPIX
Published September 4, 2026 5:54 pm
The Santa Clara VTA is responding to a civil grand jury report that was highly critical of the agency’s plan, and the ballooning costs, to extend BART in downtown San Jose. Devin Fehely reports.
A 3:43 minute video is included on the webpage link above. Click the Play arrow to view.
VTA defends its plan to extend BART to downtown San Jose
kioncentralcoast.com
The Santa Clara VTA is responding to a civil grand jury report that was highly critical of the agency's plan, and the ballooning costs, to extend BART in downtown San Jose. Devin Fehely reports.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Humboldt County Media Coverage for 2025-2026 Reports and Recruiting
www.times-standard.com/2026/09/02/my-word-you-can-make-a-difference-advocating-for-humboldt-count...
You can make a difference advocating for Humboldt County residents
Times Standard
By VICTORIA JOYCE | Civil Grand Jurors' Assoc. Humboldt Chapter
PUBLISHED: September 2, 2026 at 5:57 AM PDT
Want change? Be part of it; join the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury. The Humboldt Civil Grand Jury is made up of ordinary residents doing extraordinary work. Get informed, get involved, make a difference.
The 2025-26 Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury just released their final reports. Included are studies on Emergency Preparedness; the Tsunami Warning System; the Eel River Conservation Camp; the Humboldt County Planning Department; and finally, Funding Issues with our Water and Sewage Systems. Read these reports yourself by looking on the County website under the Civil Grand Jury tab, humboldtgov.org/Archive.aspx?AMID=62.
You can also pick up a paper copy of the reports at the Civil Grand Jury Office located on the first floor of the County Courthouse. The office hours are Mondays 9 a.m. to noon.
Civil Grand Jury reports do matter and can create needed changes.
For instance, the 2023-24 Grand Jury first proposed Oversight for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, an issue now being studied by the Board of Supervisors. Both the 2015-16 and 2018-19 Civil Grand Juries called attention to the overlooked ADA accessibility deadlines that could have cost millions if they had been ignored. Instead, the County was able to renegotiate with the Department of Justice, giving themselves time to make the necessary adjustments without financial penalties.
To promote transparency and accountability, the Civil Grand Jury provides the important function of studying all aspects of city and county government, including special districts and joint power agencies. Jurors serve for 12 months, from July of one year through June of the following year, and are paid a stipend plus mileage to and from meetings. They generally work between 10-30 hours a week during their term; less at the beginning, more hours towards the end of the term.
Civil Grand Jurors are not involved with criminal trials. Instead, they are part of the Humboldt County Superior Court and answer only to the Court. It is important to understand that the Civil Grand Jury operates on a rule of complete confidentiality. Any and all conversations, interviews and decisions made at a Civil Grand Jury meeting stay within the meeting. Jurors are sworn to confidentiality for life; their oath does not end when their term ends. Because of this confidentiality, no one will ever know any details about their deliberations and decisions except what is shared in their reports.
Each Civil Grand Jury decides for itself what to study and what reports it issues. All decisions are made by a supermajority vote, which in Humboldt County means at least 12 of the 19 jurors must agree to an action. The Board of Supervisors may request a study or investigation, but it is only a request. They cannot order the Civil Grand Jury to do anything. The Civil Grand Jury is an arm of the Superior Court, it is not a County Department.
The Civil Grand Jury also studies citizen complaints. Anyone can file a complaint with the Grand Jury. If you see something wrong, file a complaint using the form on Grand Jury’s tab at the County‘s website, humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/133718/Citizen-Complaint-Form. These complaints are confidential. Neither your name nor the details of your complaint will ever be made public. You can make a change.
If this sounds interesting, please apply for the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury. The Superior Court is currently looking for alternates in case a current juror is unable to finish their term. If you are a Humboldt County resident who has lived here in the County for at least one year and are at least 18 years old, you are eligible to apply.
Print an application from the Grand Jury page on the County’s website, humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/135826/Application-of-Prospective-Grand-Juror-PDF, or the Superior Court page also on the County’s website. Pick up a paper copy of the application on the door of the Civil Grand Jury’s office. Call either the Civil Grand Jury or the Superior Court for more information.
Again, if you want to make a difference, be part of it. Join the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury.
My Word | You can make a difference advocating for Humboldt County residents
www.times-standard.com
Join the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury to investigate local complaints.1 CommentsComment on Facebook
Santa Clara CGJ report reference 2022 and 2024
contracosta.news/2026/08/19/voters-sue-to-strip-campaign-slogans-from-the-ballot-question-for-a-1...
"The petitioners point to the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury, which warned about exactly this tactic in its 2022 report bluntly titled “If You Only Read the Ballot, You’re Being Duped,” and again in a 2024 follow-up. The grand jury found that ballot-question wording is unregulated at the local level and that local officials can, and do, write questions in ways that are confusing or misleading to voters."
VOTERS SUE TO STRIP “CAMPAIGN SLOGANS” FROM THE BALLOT QUESTION FOR A $17 BILLION TRANSIT SALES TAX
Press Release
written by CC News Bay Area News Contra Costa County
08/19/2026
Taxpayer advocates say Bay Area transit officials wrote the November ballot question to sell the tax, not describe it, and were warned in writing the night before they voted
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Ten Bay Area voters filed suit today to force a rewrite of what they call a slanted, misleading ballot question for the Regional Transit Measure (RTM), with an understatement of the $17 billion-dollar sales-tax hike headed for the November 2026 ballot. The petition filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court (Kopp et al. v. Ward et al. – Case No. 26CV500944) asks a judge to strike the promotional language transit officials packed into the question and replace it with the neutral summary state law requires.
A ballot question written to persuade
The petitioners want the court to fix the 75-word “ballot label,” the only description of the measure many voters will ever read, so it stops functioning as free advertising for the tax. State law requires that label to be a true, impartial, and neutral synopsis. What we have is a prejudicial argument for passage front loaded with emotional appeals based on a voter survey.
The five-count petition asks the court to strike the loaded phrase and conform the question to the plain “Shall the measure … be adopted?” format the law prescribes. It also challenges the district counsel’s official “impartial analysis” as anything but impartial.
Transit officials were warned — and did it anyway
Transit officials cannot claim they were blindsided. On the night of July 23, 2026, the eve of the board’s special meeting, attorney Jason A. Bezis sent a detailed pre-litigation demand letter urging the board not to approve the question as drafted. The letter was acknowledged multiple times and the measure was placed on the ballot with the slanted wording anyway.
The petitioners point to the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury, which warned about exactly this tactic in its 2022 report bluntly titled “If You Only Read the Ballot, You’re Being Duped,” and again in a 2024 follow-up. The grand jury found that ballot-question wording is unregulated at the local level and that local officials can, and do, write questions in ways that are confusing or misleading to voters.
Because election cases move on an expedited track, the petitioners have asked the court to resolve the dispute quickly to correct the language without disrupting the election.
“Voters deserve the honest description the law guarantees them, and if the district won’t provide it, a court should,” said Contra Costa Taxpayers Association President Marc Joffe, who is among the plaintiffs.
Another plaintiff, Gregg Dieguez, Director of Sustainability for SHIFT Bay Area, said “Supporters of the Transit Measure need to use misleading advertising because voters won’t pass the measure if they have the real story that it is a regressive tax falling hardest on seniors and low-income families for 14 years.”
The RTM would raise the sales tax by 0.5 percent in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and a full 1 percent in San Francisco for 14 years, an estimated $17 billion out of taxpayers’ pockets.
The lead plaintiff is Quentin Kopp, a former San Francisco Supervisor and California State Senator. Kopp historically advocated large transit projects including the BART extension to SFO and California High-Speed Rail but later soured on major capital projects due to the amount of waste they often involve.
Kopp, who signed the San Francisco ballot argument against RTM said “this tax measure is an insult to the riders and taxpayers of the 4 regional transit agencies” and asserted that “our lawsuit is well founded and has an excellent chance of prevailing.”
Voters Sue to Strip “Campaign Slogans” From the Ballot Question for a $17 Billion Transit Sales Tax
contracosta.news
Taxpayer advocates say Bay Area transit officials wrote the November ballot question to sell the tax, not describe it, and were warned in writing the night before they voted0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Follow up for Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury
Santa Clara County Unveils 40-Year Plan to Reverse San Jose's Vanishing Tree Canopy
hoodline.com
Santa Clara County wants to fix a shrinking tree canopy with a 40-year plan focused on the neighborhoods that need shade most.1 CommentsComment on Facebook
Humboldt County Grand Jury Report Media News
Emergency Preparedness Report
Reports from the Grand Jury - North Coast Journal
www.northcoastjournal.com
Every year a group of 19 volunteers comes together to form the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury in a civilian oversight tradition that dates back to the Magna Carta. Wielding the power of the subpoena...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
CGJA Journal
This bimonthly journal is a major source of information about the civil grand jury system and recent updates on CGJA activities of interest to our members.
The Gift of Your Time
is Priceless
CGJA is an all-volunteer membership organization. We succeed mainly because our members volunteer to serve on our committees and/or train civil grand jurors. Serving on committees almost never requires travel as we communicate via email and computer video. Our trainers do travel to venues throughout the state and we reimburse them for lodging, mileage, and a modest per diem for other expenses.
