Douglas County plans grand jury

Monday, April 17, 2000 | 10:38 a.m.

Douglas District Judge Dave Gamble said Thursday he and Judge Michael Gibbons see the jury as an opportunity to check up on local government - not a response to any suspected wrongdoing.

"Nothing in the news has given rise to this. It's just time," Gamble said. "There's a requirement of the larger counties to have one every four or five years. We have decided to basically honor that, even though we're a small county, just because we think it's important for people to have confidence in their government."

The last two grand juries recommended impanelling grand juries every two to three years to review the county's operations. Douglas County's last grand jury met in 1993 and 1994.

"My idea is for this to be a general grand jury, empowered to look at any part of government," Gamble said.

The 1993-94 grand jury studied several county offices, including the airport, East Fork Fire and Paramedic District, the jail, district and justice courts, purchasing and public works, which has since been renamed community development.

The county has $100,000 set aside to pay for the grand jury. The money was included in the current fiscal year budget and will be transferred to the upcoming 2000-01 spending plan.

The grand jury will consist of 17 people, with 12 alternates chosen.

Prospective jurors will be selected from the regular jury pool and polled on whether they are able and willing to spend the time necessary to sit on the jury.

Gamble said he hopes the 2000 grand jury can complete its work by fall, He said the judges will probably issue an order to begin choosing prospective grand jurors in the coming few weeks.