Opinion: Indictment shows value of Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury

A recent indictment stands as a strong show of support for one of our important institutions, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury.

The CGJ has far too low a profile despite its considerable efforts over the past decades to improve local government, its reason for being.

Recent CGJ reports spotlighted problems at Cupertino City Hall and the slow pace of our felony trials (the DA’s office was among the targets of that one). Recent actions also include an accusation that prodded former Sheriff Laurie Smith to resign.

And then there’s last fall’s report on the relationship between the San Francisco 49ers and the city of Santa Clara, site of the team’s leased home field, Levi’s Stadium.

CGJ findings criticized five of the city’s seven councilmembers for holding private meetings with 49er executives and voting as a bloc “in a manner that is favorable to the 49ers.” The report says the bloc might have violated the state’s Brown Act open meetings law. Santa Clara City Councilman Anthony Becker is one of the five.

News stories on the report began surfacing on Oct. 7 and included strong denunciations from the 49ers’ then-lobbyist/spokesman Rahul Chandhok.

But it’s the timing of those initial stories that is making more news this month. The civil grand jury is the public watchdog branch of the local Superior Court. And the court did not publish the Santa Clara-49ers report until Oct. 10.

The report had been leaked, a serious breach of the confidentiality practice that governs all CGJ proceedings statewide.

With those confidentiality requirements, we have no special knowledge about the report. But in April, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office indicted Becker on two counts. One count pertains to the leak, a misdemeanor. The other count is perjury under oath, a felony.

On May 3, Becker pleaded not guilty. Transcripts of a criminal grand jury’s proceedings, as reported by local media, indicate the former 49ers lobbyist testified that Becker gave him a copy of the still-confidential report. With that heads-up, the 49ers prepared a quick, strong response to the report that, reportedly, included researching civil grand jurors to try to unearth any conflicts of interest.

We’re not condemning anyone here. The process must play out. There are questions, including whether there were multiple leaks.

We are, however, standing up for the integrity of the civil grand jury.

By penal code, CGJs must give report targets at least two workdays for review before the reports are released to provide time to correct any factual errors. The same law says those who get an early look at a report shall not disclose anything about that report. Agencies or officials must officially respond to a report’s findings and recommendations within 60 or 90 days. Agencies are not mandated to act on the recommendations, though some do at times.

Another CGJ rule is that reports serve as basically the sole communication the jury makes with the public. So, our group of former civil grand jurors feels compelled to comment.

CGJ service attracts people who’ve had local government connections. It’s not shocking that some 2022 jurors had some connections to Santa Clara’s city government. The report notes two jurors recused themselves. They are not named. We recognize the unfairness of harsh public scrutiny that comes with being a grand juror sworn to secrecy. But we also believe disclosing the names of recused jurors would aid transparency of any report.

Also, Becker was not interviewed. The report says jurors conducted more than 10 interviews and reviewed more than 700 emails. Interviewees aren’t identified in CGJ reports, but news reports found that two bloc members were interviewed. We feel that, ideally, the CGJ should have tried to interview all five.

Yet, failing to interview Becker hardly takes away from what we see as the report’s reasoned, worthwhile recommendations.

By indicting Becker, the DA’s office supported the civil grand jury as an asset for our county. That deserves all our thanks.

Henry Groth and Michael Krey are co-presidents of the Santa Clara County Chapter of the California Grand Jurors’ Association.