Court Seeking Grand Jury Volunteers

To be considered for service on the Grand Jury, you must be a citizen of the United States, be 18 years of age or older, be of good character, have been a resident of Santa Barbara County for at least one year, and have never been convicted of a felony or malfeasance in office.

Some of the principal functions of the grand jury include investigation and review of the departments and special districts of county and city government; involvement in fiscal or management audits; and the preparation of reports on related matters. Reports are then filed with recommendations for improvement of operations.

Service on the Grand Jury is for a period of one year commencing July 1 through June 30, and usually involves approximately 25 hours per week. There is no question that service on the Grand Jury is an enormous sacrifice of time; however, it is an excellent opportunity to learn about the inner workings of government, while providing a valuable service to the community.

To obtain more information or an application call Jury Services during regular business hours in Santa Barbara at (805) 882-4530 or Santa Maria at (805) 614-6464. Interested parties may also pick up applications at the Jury Assembly Building, 1108 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara or Jury Assembly Building “F”, 312 E. Cook Street, Santa Maria. Applications are also available at www.sbcourts.org.

The deadline for submitting an application is now Monday, April 30, 2012. The new Grand Jury will begin on July 1, 2012 and serve through June 30, 2013.

Questions regarding this press release should be directed to Angela Braun in South County at (805) 882-4539 or Lori Hornbrook in North County at (805) 614-6425.