Latinos Meet With Judge, Condemn Grand Jury Report : Immigration: Leaders of six organizations spend hour with presiding jurist to protest immigration comments by panel. One activist says meeting was ‘productive.’

In a highly unusual meeting, Latino community leaders sat down Tuesday with Orange County’s presiding Superior Court judge to vent their outrage over a controversial grand jury report linking immigrants to some of society’s ills.

Leaders representing six Latino organizations ranging from restaurant workers to Latino attorneys spent an hour with Judge Michael Brenner to explain why a recent grand jury report recommending a nationwide ban on immigration has so angered minorities.

“It was a very productive meeting,” said Amin David of Los Amigos of Orange County, an immigrants rights group. “The judge listened very carefully to our concerns and we were pleased with that.”

Brenner, who oversees grand jury operations, did not return a phone call seeking comment after the meeting.

Outrage over the grand jury report has widened to complaints about the lack of minority representation on the grand jury and the bench, as well as other concerns that minorities and the poor are often treated unfairly by the judicial system.

Superior Court executive Pat Hill, who supervises grand jury recruitment, said after the meeting that she believes it marks the first step toward improving minority representation on the grand jury.

“It’s sad that it took something (like a grand jury report) that offended many people, but I think something positive came out of the meeting,” said Hill, who said she plans to seek the help of those attending the meetings to recruit grand jury applicants.

The current grand jury has an average age of 64 and includes 15 Anglos, two Latinos, one African-American and one American Indian.

The meeting included representatives from the Orange County Hispanic Bar Assn., a Santa Ana-based union for restaurant and hotel workers, and several Latino rights groups.

David said he asked Brenner to review their complaints and hopes the judge will condemn the grand jury report. Brenner earlier declined to do so because even if he did not agree with the findings, the grand jury was within its purview to issue such a report.

Activists say the meeting only marks the beginning of their efforts.

Zeke Hernandez, state director for the League of United Latin American Citizens who also attended the meeting, said he is currently preparing federal complaints about the legal system to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Department of Justice.

“If the legal system is going to be fair, unbiased and representative of people of color, it must begin with the grand jury,” said Luis Palacio of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, who also attending the meeting. “This is just the start.”