Article 1. General Provisions of California Penal Code >> Title 4. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 1.
(a) When the grand jury is impaneled and sworn, it shall be
charged by the court. In doing so, the court shall give the grand
jurors such information as it deems proper, or as is required by law,
as to their duties, and as to any charges for public offenses
returned to the court or likely to come before the grand jury.
(b) To assist a grand jury in the performance of its statutory
duties regarding civil matters, the court, in consultation with the
district attorney, the county counsel, and at least one former grand
juror, shall ensure that a grand jury that considers or takes action
on civil matters receives training that addresses, at a minimum,
report writing, interviews, and the scope of the grand jury's
responsibility and statutory authority.
(c) Any costs incurred by the court as a result of this section
shall be absorbed by the court or the county from existing resources.
When a grand jury is impaneled, for purposes which include
the investigation of, or inquiry into, county matters of civil
concern, the judge of the superior court of the county, in addition
to other matters requiring action, shall call its attention to the
provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 23000) of Division 1
of Title 3, and Sections 24054 and 26525 of the Government Code, and
instruct it to ascertain by a careful and diligent investigation
whether such provisions have been complied with, and to note the
result of such investigation in its report. At such time the judge
shall also inform and charge the grand jury especially as to its
powers, duties, and responsibilities under Article 1 (commencing with
Section 888) of Chapter 2, and Article 2 (commencing with Section
925), Article 3 (commencing with Section 934) of this chapter,
Article 3 (commencing with Section 3060) of Chapter 7 of Division 4
of Title 1 of the Government Code, and Section 17006 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code.
The grand jury shall not spend money or incur obligations in
excess of the amount budgeted for its investigative activities
pursuant to this chapter by the county board of supervisors unless
the proposed expenditure is approved in advance by the presiding
judge of the superior court after the board of supervisors has been
advised of the request.
When the grand jury has been impaneled, sworn, and charged, it
shall retire to a private room, except when operating under a
finding pursuant to Section 939.1, and inquire into the offenses and
matters of civil concern cognizable by it. On the completion of the
business before the grand jury or expiration of the term of
prescribed service of one or more grand jurors, the court shall
discharge it or the affected individual jurors.
Each grand jury shall choose its officers, except the foreman,
and shall determine its rules of proceeding. Adoption of its rules
of procedure and all public actions of the grand jury, whether
concerning criminal or civil matters unless otherwise prescribed in
law, including adoption of final reports, shall be only with the
concurrence of that number of grand jurors necessary to find an
indictment pursuant to Section 940. Rules of procedure shall include
guidelines for that grand jury to ensure that all findings included
in its final reports are supported by documented evidence, including
reports of contract auditors or consultants, official records, or
interviews attended by no fewer than two grand jurors and that all
problems identified in a final report are accompanied by suggested
means for their resolution, including financial, when applicable.
If the foreman of a grand jury is absent from any meeting or
if he is disqualified to act, the grand jury may select a member of
that body to act as foreman pro tempore, who shall perform the
duties, and have all the powers, of the regularly appointed foreman
in his absence or disqualification.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a grand
juror who is a current employee of, or a former or retired employee
last employed within the prior three years by, an agency within the
investigative jurisdiction of the civil grand jury shall inform the
foreperson and court of that fact and shall recuse himself or herself
from participating in any grand jury civil investigation of that
agency, including any discussion or vote concerning a civil
investigation of that agency.
(b) This section shall be in addition to any local policies or
rules regarding conflict of interest for grand jurors.
(c) For purposes of this section, "agency" means a department or
operational part of a government entity, such as a city, county, city
and county, school district, or other local government body.
(a) The grand jury may inquire into all public offenses
committed or triable within the county and present them to the court
by indictment.
(b) Except as provided in Section 918, the grand jury shall not
inquire into an offense that involves a shooting or use of excessive
force by a peace officer described in Section 830.1, subdivision (a)
of Section 830.2, or Section 830.39, that led to the death of a
person being detained or arrested by the peace officer pursuant to
Section 836.
If a member of a grand jury knows, or has reason to believe,
that a public offense, triable within the county, has been committed,
he may declare it to his fellow jurors, who may thereupon
investigate it.
(a) The grand jury may inquire into the case of every person
imprisoned in the jail of the county on a criminal charge and not
indicted.
(b) The grand jury shall inquire into the condition and management
of the public prisons within the county.
(c) The grand jury shall inquire into the willful or corrupt
misconduct in office of public officers of every description within
the county. Except as provided in Section 918, this subdivision does
not apply to misconduct that involves a shooting or use of excessive
force by a peace officer described in Section 830.1, subdivision (a)
of Section 830.2, or Section 830.39, that led to the death of a
person being detained or arrested by the peace officer pursuant to
Section 836.
The grand jury may investigate and inquire into all sales and
transfers of land, and into the ownership of land, which, under the
state laws, might or should escheat to the State of California. For
this purpose, the grand jury may summon witnesses before it and
examine them and the records. The grand jury shall direct that proper
escheat proceedings be commenced when, in the opinion of the grand
jury, the evidence justifies such proceedings.
The grand jury is entitled to free access, at all reasonable
times, to the public prisons, and to the examination, without charge,
of all public records within the county.
The powers and duties of the grand jury in connection with
proceedings for the removal of district, county, or city officers are
prescribed in Article 3 (commencing with Section 3060), Chapter 7,
Division 4, Title 1, of the Government Code.
(a) Whenever the Attorney General considers that the public
interest requires, he or she may, with or without the concurrence of
the district attorney, direct the grand jury to convene for the
investigation and consideration of those matters of a criminal nature
that he or she desires to submit to it. He or she may take full
charge of the presentation of the matters to the grand jury, issue
subpoenas, prepare indictments, and do all other things incident
thereto to the same extent as the district attorney may do.
(b) Whenever the Attorney General considers that the public
interest requires, he or she may, with or without the concurrence of
the district attorney, petition the court to impanel a special grand
jury to investigate, consider, or issue indictments for any of the
activities subject to fine, imprisonment, or asset forfeiture under
Section 14107 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. He or she may
take full charge of the presentation of the matters to the grand
jury, issue subpoenas, prepare indictments, and do all other things
incident thereto to the same extent as the district attorney may do.
If the evidence presented to the grand jury shows the commission of
an offense or offenses for which venue would be in a county other
than the county where the grand jury is impaneled, the Attorney
General, with or without the concurrence of the district attorney in
the county with jurisdiction over the offense or offenses, may
petition the court to impanel a special grand jury in that county.
Notwithstanding any other law, upon request of the Attorney General,
a grand jury convened by the Attorney General pursuant to this
subdivision may submit confidential information obtained by that
grand jury, including, but not limited to, documents and testimony,
to a second grand jury that has been impaneled at the request of the
Attorney General pursuant to this subdivision in any other county
where venue for an offense or offenses shown by evidence presented to
the first grand jury is proper. All confidentiality provisions
governing information, testimony, and evidence presented to a grand
jury shall be applicable, except as expressly permitted by this
subdivision. The Attorney General shall inform the grand jury that
transmits confidential information and the grand jury that receives
confidential information of any exculpatory evidence, as required by
Section 939.71. The grand jury that transmits information to another
grand jury shall include the exculpatory evidence disclosed by the
Attorney General in the transmission of the confidential information.
The Attorney General shall inform both the grand jury transmitting
the confidential information and the grand jury receiving that
information of their duties under Section 939.7. A special grand jury
convened pursuant to this subdivision shall be in addition to the
other grand juries authorized by this section, this chapter, or
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 893).
(c) Whenever the Attorney General considers that the public
interest requires, he or she may, with or without the concurrence of
the district attorney, impanel a special statewide grand jury to
investigate, consider, or issue indictments in any matters in which
there are two or more activities, in which fraud or theft is a
material element, that have occurred in more than one county and were
conducted either by a single defendant or multiple defendants acting
in concert.
(1) This special statewide grand jury may be impaneled in the
Counties of Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, or San
Francisco, at the Attorney General's discretion. When impaneling a
special statewide grand jury pursuant to this subdivision, the
Attorney General shall use an existing regularly impaneled criminal
grand jury within the period of its regular impanelment to serve as
the special statewide grand jury and make arrangements with the grand
jury coordinator in the applicable county, or with the presiding
judge or whoever is charged with scheduling the grand jury hearings,
in order to ensure orderly coordination and use of the grand jurors'
time for both regular grand jury duties and special statewide grand
jury duties. Whenever the Attorney General impanels a special
statewide grand jury, the prosecuting attorney representing the
Attorney General shall inform the special statewide grand jury at the
outset of the case that the special statewide grand jury is acting
as a special statewide grand jury with statewide jurisdiction.
(2) For special statewide grand juries impaneled pursuant to this
subdivision, the Attorney General may issue subpoenas for documents
and witnesses located anywhere in the state in order to obtain
evidence to present to the special statewide grand jury. The special
statewide grand jury may hear all evidence in the form of testimony
or physical evidence presented to the special statewide grand jury,
irrespective of the location of the witness or physical evidence
prior to subpoena. The special statewide grand jury impaneled
pursuant to this subdivision may indict a person or persons with
charges for crimes that occurred in counties other than where the
special statewide grand jury is impaneled. The indictment shall then
be submitted to the court in any county in which any of the charges
could otherwise have been properly brought. The court where the
indictment is filed under this subdivision shall have proper
jurisdiction over all counts in the indictment.
(3) Notwithstanding Section 944, an indictment found by a special
statewide grand jury convened pursuant to this subdivision and
endorsed as a true bill by the special statewide grand jury
foreperson, may be presented to the court, as set forth in paragraph
(2), solely by the Attorney General and within five court days of the
endorsement of the indictment. For indictments presented to the
court in this manner, the Attorney General shall also file with the
court or court clerk, at the time of presenting the indictment, an
affidavit signed by the special statewide grand jury foreperson
attesting that all the jurors who voted on the indictment heard all
of the evidence presented by the Attorney General, and that a proper
number of jurors voted for the indictment pursuant to Section 940.
The Attorney General's office shall be responsible for prosecuting an
indictment produced by the special statewide grand jury.
(4) If a defendant makes a timely and successful challenge to the
Attorney General's right to convene a special statewide grand jury by
clearly demonstrating that the charges brought are not encompassed
by this subdivision, the court shall dismiss the indictment without
prejudice to the Attorney General, who may bring the same or other
charges against the defendant at a later date by way of another
special statewide grand jury, properly convened, or a regular grand
jury, or by any other procedure available.
(5) The provisions of Section 939.71 shall apply to the special
statewide grand jury.
(6) Unless otherwise set forth in this section, a law applying to
a regular grand jury impaneled pursuant to Section 23 of Article I of
the California Constitution shall apply to a special statewide grand
jury unless the application of the law to a special statewide grand
jury would substantially interfere with the execution of one or more
of the provisions of this section. If there is substantial
interference, the provision governing the special statewide grand
jury will govern.
(d) Upon certification by the Attorney General, a statement of the
costs directly related to the impanelment and activities of the
grand jury pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) from the presiding
judge of the superior court where the grand jury was impaneled shall
be submitted for state reimbursement of the costs to the county or
courts.
Every grand juror who willfully discloses the fact of an
information or indictment having been made for a felony, until the
defendant has been arrested, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(a) Every grand juror who, except when required by a court,
willfully discloses any evidence adduced before the grand jury, or
anything which he himself or any other member of the grand jury has
said, or in what manner he or she or any other grand juror has voted
on a matter before them, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Every interpreter for the disabled appointed to assist a
member of the grand jury pursuant to Section 939.11 who, except when
required by a court, willfully discloses any evidence adduced before
the grand jury, or anything which he or she or any member of the
grand jury has said, or in what manner any grand juror has voted on a
matter before them, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Each grand juror shall keep secret whatever he himself or
any other grand juror has said, or in what manner he or any other
grand juror has voted on a matter before them. Any court may require
a grand juror to disclose the testimony of a witness examined before
the grand jury, for the purpose of ascertaining whether it is
consistent with that given by the witness before the court, or to
disclose the testimony given before the grand jury by any person,
upon a charge against such person for perjury in giving his testimony
or upon trial therefor.
A grand juror cannot be questioned for anything he may say
or any vote he may give in the grand jury relative to a matter
legally pending before the jury, except for a perjury of which he may
have been guilty in making an accusation or giving testimony to his
fellow jurors.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 924.1 and 924.2,
any grand jury or, if the grand jury is no longer impaneled, the
presiding judge of the superior court, may pass on and provide the
succeeding grand jury with any records, information, or evidence
acquired by the grand jury during the course of any investigation
conducted by it during its term of service, except any information or
evidence that relates to a criminal investigation or that could form
part or all of the basis for issuance of an indictment. Transcripts
of testimony reported during any session of the grand jury shall be
made available to the succeeding grand jury upon its request.
If no indictment is returned, the court that impaneled the
grand jury shall, upon application of either party, order disclosure
of all or part of the testimony of a witness before the grand jury to
a defendant and the prosecutor in connection with any pending or
subsequent criminal proceeding before any court if the court finds
following an in camera hearing, which shall include the court's
review of the grand jury's testimony, that the testimony is relevant,
and appears to be admissible.