The Jury Is Still Out

Francisco P. Briseno, presiding judge of the Orange County Superior Court, is looking for men and women volunteers unafraid of low pay and long hours. The opportunity is service as one of 19 members of the 1986-87 county grand jury to be installed July 1. The response thus far has been disappointing--only 11 volunteers.

Soliciting volunteers from the community is not the only way potential county grand jurors are found. Judges of the Superior Court nominate residents who they believe would qualify. The idea behind seeking volunteers is to give residents not personally acquainted with a judge the opportunity to serve. It also helps develop a pool that may be more representative of the community than some past panels that have been made up of older, non-minority, higher-income residents and heavily weighted with retired people and homemakers.

The deadline for applying for the jury service is Feb. 3. Application forms can be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed business-size envelope to Grand Jury Application, c/o Alan Slater, Jury Commissioner, Orange County Courthouse, P.O. Box 1994, Santa Ana 92702, or by going to the jury commissioner’s office in Room 255 of the County Courthouse at 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana during regular working hours.

Like many public-service posts, the Grand Jury doesn’t pay well--only $25 a day. The hours are long, generally three to four days a week. And the tour of duty is one full year. That’s why potential jurors are so hard to find. But the reward is the sense of satisfaction that goes with community service, and the stimulation of investigations that can be challenging.