Item 13 - OC Grand Jury's Investigative Report, Findings, and Recommendations Regarding Group Homes and the Orange County Animal Care Shelter

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Gimme Shelter and a Pound of Advice Impediments to the Investigation The Grand Jury's function is to investigate the operation of the various officers, departments, and agencies of the local government. Article 1, Section 23 of the California Constitution states: "One or more grand juries shall be drawn and summoned at least once a year in each county. " Provisions of the California Penal Code define the scope and limitations of a grand jury's authority: Penal Code Section 916: ... 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 ... 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. Penal Code Section 921: The grand jury is entitled to the examination, without charge, of all public records within the county. Penal Code Section 925: The grand jury shall investigate and report on the operations, accounts, and records of the officers, departments, or functions of the county ... The investigations may be conducted on some selective basis each year ... Penal Code Section 925 (a): The grand jury. may, at all times, request the advice of the court, or the judge thereof, the district attorney, the county counsel, or the Attorney General ... As a department of Orange County government, the County Counsel's office provides - -- -legal counsel -and services to the Orange County Board of Supervisors and all other Orange County departments and agencies, including the Grand Jury. At the start of a_Grand _Jury's one-year term, County Counsel assigns an individual attorney within its office to serve as the Grand Jury's primary attorney. Because the - - individual serving astheGrand Jury's counsel is also assigned to other departments or - -- -. - agencies _within Orange -County government, there is the potential for the Grand Jury's designated- primary counsel to have a conflict of interest when the Grand Jury investigates a department or agency otherwise served by the primary attorney. To = ensure continuity of legalserviceto the Grand Jury, the County Counsel's office also assigns a back-up attorney that provides service to the Grand Jury when the primary counsel is conflicted. The back-up attorney is selected so that at least the primary or ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 1 2023 PAGE 27 OF 51