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.
What Are You
Looking For?
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
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
Civil Grand Jury raises concerns over Silicon Valley BART extension-Santa Clsra County 2026 Report
sanjosespotlight.com/civil-grand-jury-raises-concerns-over-silicon-valley-bart-extension/
Civil Grand Jury raises concerns over Silicon Valley BART extension
San Jose Spotlight
by Maryanne Casas-Perez
August 18, 2026
VTA workers install a sound barrier at the Newhall Maintenance Facility in Santa Clara, where early construction work has begun on the BART expansion through Silicon Valley. Photo courtesy of VTA.
VTA officials will provide more clarity about the finances and long-term costs of the massive Silicon Valley BART extension in response to a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report that criticized the agency’s management and oversight of the project.
The June 17 report raised concerns about VTA’s financial planning and oversight of the roughly $13 billion effort to bring a six-mile BART extension to Santa Clara and San Jose — including its lack of a dedicated cash-flow model, reliance on uncertain funding sources and failure to consistently account for long-term operations and maintenance costs.
It recommended VTA develop a cash-flow model, create an alternative funding strategy and require staff to analyze future operations and maintenance costs before signing off on major design and construction decisions.
“The (VTA board of directors) has recognized the need for additional oversight and guidance, but the board has failed to exercise its obligation to provide the strategic direction needed for a successful project,” the report reads.
On Aug. 13, the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Oversight Committee — a subcommittee of VTA board members — unanimously recommended the full VTA board of directors adopt a revised response to the recommendations. A VTA spokesperson told San José Spotlight the agency will incorporate the oversight committee’s comments before presenting the response to the board on Sept. 3. The public transit agency must submit its final response by Sept. 15.
Board members discussed the project’s costs at the recent meeting. Since 2019, VTA’s general engineering contracts have totaled roughly $544 million, with the oversight committee recently approving a $150 million extension for additional design work. VTA has also been working to patch a nearly $1 billion funding gap in the project.
VTA officials said the transit agency maintains several financial models and daily cash-flow reports, but acknowledged the information could be presented more clearly to decision makers. Deputy General Manager Greg Richardson said VTA needs to better consolidate information so officials have a clearer picture of the project’s finances.
The civil grand jury also recommended that VTA require staff to present an operations and maintenance cost analysis when considering major design and construction alternatives. The revised response commits VTA to implementing the recommendation by Dec. 31, 2026.
Suds Jain, a VTA board member and Santa Clara councilmember, said those costs need to be considered when making design decisions because choices made during construction can create expensive maintenance obligations later.
“So that’s why there’s decisions that have to be made looking at how much it’s going to cost to maintain those systems,” Jain said at the meeting. “We have these elevators at the Milpitas station that have glass panels that are custom glass panels, and they break, and they’re unbelievably expensive to maintain. So why do we pick those panels?”
VTA officials said the agency considers cost, schedule, risk and operations and maintenance impacts when evaluating major design changes. Staff also work with BART, which will operate and maintain the extension, to evaluate how design decisions could affect long-term costs.
The committee also discussed the role of Auditor General Scott Johnson, who provides independent oversight of the project, and whether the committee’s charter and bylaws should be reviewed by the VTA board. Officials agreed to continue evaluating the charter and bylaws rather than create a temporary subcommittee to study the issue.
They also agreed to include Johnson’s written response as supplemental information alongside VTA’s official response to the civil grand jury report. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who sits on the VTA board and oversight committee, said the report provides an opportunity to improve the transit agency’s governance, but disagreed with its broader characterization of the committee.
“I think this is an exceptionally complex and fast moving project,” Mahan said at the meeting. “We do have to ensure the governance model is very clear, providing a charter, showing communication and continuous improvement.”
Monica Mallon, a transit advocate and San José Spotlight columnist, has independently advocated for the BART extension since 2017. She said the civil grand jury’s report raises legitimate concerns about transparency, but should not derail the project.
“I do think that VTA and BART should improve transparency, and should clarify things as much as possible,” Mallon told San José Spotlight. “I don’t think that anything in the report is reason to dramatically change course or stop the project, or stop pursuing state and federal funding for the project in any way.”
Civil Grand Jury raises concerns over Silicon Valley BART extension - San José Spotlight
sanjosespotlight.com
VTA officials will provide more clarity about the finances and long-term costs of the massive Silicon Valley BART extension in response to a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report that criticized ...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.
