File a Complaint
As an independent body, the Grand Jury is required by law to investigate any complaints by any person. Per Penal Code §925:
The grand jury shall investigate and report on the operations, accounts, and records of the officers, departments, or functions of the county including those operations, accounts, and records of any special legislative district or other districts in the county.
The Grand Jury may investigate the validity of any complaint submitted. This may include government waste and inefficiencies, possible felonies or malfeasance (wrongdoing), failure to provide public services or nonfeasance (failure to perform an act as required by law), and misfeasance (the wrongful performance of a normally lawful act). Should the Grand Jury choose to investigate a specific complaint submitted, the matter will be assigned to a Grand Jury Committee. This committee may include the results of their investigation in the Final Report that is published and made public at the end of each fiscal year.
The Grand Jury’s jurisdiction is limited to local governments such as counties, cities, special districts, and school districts. The Grand Jury has no jurisdiction over state or federal activities or to private organizations and people not acting in a governmental capacity.
All complaints are kept with the highest level of confidentiality, except information released in the Final Report. Each Grand Juror has been sworn in by the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court and given an oath of secrecy binding for life. The Grand Jury’s records may not be inspected or subpoenaed.
The CONFIDENTIAL Grand Jury citizen complaint form should be prepared and filed with the Grand Jury only after all attempts to resolve the complaint have been exhausted. Please provide proof of attempts to resolve the complaint. Ordinarily, the County Grand Jury has no jurisdiction over State or Federal agencies, the courts, judicial officers, or most companies in the private sector. All documents submitted become the property of the Grand Jury and will not be returned. Every person who makes a report to the Grand Jury that a felony or misdemeanor has been committed, knowing the report to be false, is guilty of a misdemeanor (Penal Code §148.5(d)).
- Complete Grand Jury complaint form and submit. Attach any and all supporting documents pertinent to the complaint.
- You may also print out a complaint form, sign and mail to the Grand Jury office at the address noted on the complaint form itself.
- The complaint will be reviewed. It will be determined if the complaint is within the jurisdiction of the Grand Jury and if the complaint will or will not be reviewed further.
- An acknowledgment letter will be sent to the complainant with additional information explaining the next step in the Complaint process.
- You may or may not be contacted further by the Grand Jury.
- By law, the Grand Jury cannot disclose information as to an investigation. The only information available regarding a complaint will be included in the Grand Jury Final Report, which is published around July 1 of each year.
- Please contact the Grand Jury office at (909) 387-9120 for any additional information.
Our Mission
The county Grand Jury is charged by the California Penal Code to investigate all aspects of county government, including cities and special districts, to ensure the county is being governed honestly and efficiently and that county monies are being handled appropriately.