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Sonoma County Grand Jury records, 1896-2009
SCG.00014  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Overview of the Collection
  • Grand Jury History
  • Scope and Contents
  • Access Terms
  • Important Information for Users of the Collection

  • Overview of the Collection

    Collection Title: Sonoma County Grand Jury records,
    Date (inclusive): 1896-2009
    Identification: SCG.00014
    Creator: California. Grand Jury (Sonoma County)
    Physical Description: 63 volumes
    Language of Materials: English
    Repository: Sonoma County Library Archives
    c/o Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library, Sonoma County Library
    725 Third Street
    Santa Rosa, CA,
    Abstract: This collection contains historical records and reports of the Sonoma County Grand Jury. Grand Jury Report records include minutes of the Grand Jury from July 6, 1934 to Jan. 26, 1948. Historical records of the Final Report series may be stored offsite, or in some cases at Closed Stacks in the Downtown Santa Rosa library. More recent issues of the Grand Jury Final Report (1994-) are available in some branch libraries

    Grand Jury History

    Biography/Organization History

    A Grand Jury derives its name from the fact that it usually has a greater number of jurors than a trial (petit) jury. One of the earliest concepts of Grand Juries dates back to early Greece where the Athenians used an accusatory body. In early Briton, the Saxons also used something similar to a Grand Jury System. During the years 978 to 1016, one of the Dooms (laws) stated that for each 100 men, 12 were to be named to act as an accusing body. They were cautioned "not to accuse an innocent man or spare a guilty one."
    The Grand Jury can also be traced to the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. There is evidence that the courts of that time summoned a body of sworn neighbors to present crimes that had come to their knowledge. Since the members of that accusing jury were selected from small jurisdictions, it was natural that they could present accusations based on their personal knowledge.
    Historians agree that the Assize [court session or assembly] of Clarendon in 1166 provided the ground work for our present Grand Jury system. During the reign of Henry II (1154-1189), to regain for the crown the powers usurped by Thomas Becket, Chancellor of England, 12 "good and lawful men" in each village were assembled to reveal the names of those suspected of crimes. It was during this same period that juries were divided into two types, civil and criminal, with the development of each influencing the other.
    The oath taken by these jurors provided that they would carry out their duties faithfully, that they would aggrieve no one through enmity nor deference to anyone through love, and that they would conceal those things that they had heard.
    By the year 1290, these accusing juries were given the authority to inquire into the maintenance of bridges and highways, defects of jails, and whether the Sheriff had kept in jail anyone who should have been brought before the justices. "Le Grand Inquest" evolved during the reign of Edward III (1368), when the "accusatory jury" was increased in number from 12 to 23, with a majority vote necessary to indict anyone accused of crime.
    In America, the Massachusetts Bay Colony impaneled the first Grand Jury in 1635 to consider cases of murder, robbery and wife beating. As early as 1700, the value of the Grand Jury was recognized as opposing the Royalists. These colonial Grand Juries expressed their independence by refusing to indict leaders of the Stamp Act (1765), and refusing to bring libel charges against the editors of the Boston Gazette (1765). A union with other colonies to oppose British taxes was supported by the Philadelphia Grand Jury in 1770.
    By the end of the Colonial Period, the Grand Jury had become an indispensable adjunct of Government: "they proposed new laws, protested against abuses in government, and wielded the tremendous authority in their power to determine who should and who should not face trial."
    Public support for Grand Juries, sustained through the Revolutionary Period, began to wane in the early 1800's. Adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, made it illegal to "deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law." As interpreted by some states, this amendment no longer required prosecution of crimes by Grand Jury indictment nor prohibited direct accusation by a prosecutor. California is still one of the states that allows prosecution to be initiated by either a Criminal Grand Jury indictment or judicial preliminary hearing.
    Sonoma County does not impanel a Criminal Grand Jury. If the Civil Grand Jury ascertains that there is an indictable offense, then a separate Criminal Grand Jury will be impaneled.
    The first California Penal Codes contained statutes providing for a Grand Jury, to be impaneled quarterly, at the same time as the trial jurors were drawn. Early Grand Juries investigated local prisons, conducted audits of county books and pursued matters of community interest. The role of the Grand Jury in California is unique. The statutes passed in 1880 allowed their duties to include investigation of county government by a Grand Jury beyond alleged misconduct of public officials. Only California and Nevada mandate that Grand Juries be impaneled annually to function specifically in a watchdog capacity over county government.

    Scope and Contents

    Official records of the Sonoma County Grand Jury.

    Arrangement of the collection

    Organized into five series:
    1. Report of the Sonoma County Grand Jury, 1918-1950
    2. Sonoma County Grand Jury ... final report, 1949-2008/2009
    3. Minutes, 1919
    4. Records, 1934-1948
    5. The people, etc. vs. Gus Meier - Grand Jury Proceedings, 1917
    Series 1-4 arranged chronologically.

    Access Terms

    This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

    Corporate Names

    California. Grand Jury (Sonoma County)

    Geographic Name:

    Sonoma County (Calif.)--Politics and government

    Title:

    Report of Sonoma County Grand Jury Final report of Sonoma County Grand Jury

    Topical Terms

    Crime--California--Sonoma County
    County government--California--Sonoma County
    Grand jury--California--Sonoma County
    Grand jury--California--Sonoma County Periodical

    Genre and Format Terms

    Minutes (administrative records)
    Official reports
    Criminal court records
    Civil court records
    Judicial records
    County government records
    State government records
    Archival materials

    Important Information for Users of the Collection

    Conditions Governing Access:

    Materials stored offsite, but collection is open to research. In many cases, further details on individual volumes can be found by calling staff at the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library. To view these materials, please call staff at 707 308-3212 to request they be brought from the Archives to the Library

    Conditions of Use

    Collection does not circulate and may be photocopied or photographed by arrangement only.

    Publication Rights

    Property rights reside with the Sonoma County Library. The Sonoma County Library has made this collection available and believes that the collection is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Collection may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Preferred credit line is: Courtesy, the Sonoma County Library. Please see additional reproduction and reuse information at https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library/order-photo

    Preferred Citation:

    Sonoma County Grand Jury records, 1918-2009. SCG.00014, Sonoma County Archives, Sonoma County Library, Rohnert Park, California.