A chorus of "I do's" rang out in a San Luis Obispo County courtroom Friday morning as 19 community members were sworn into the Grand Jury.
The Grand Jury serves as the "watchdog" of the county.
The 19 members were selected by random draw from a pool of applicants.
In order to be a part of that pool, community members send in an application and participate in two separate interviews. The first being with the Grand Jury Association, and the second with one of the court judges.
According to Corine Ellsworth, the outgoing foreperson for the Grand Jury, there are certain criteria they look for when choosing applicants. Things like personal background, knowledge of the community, and a natural curiosity go a long way in the selection process.
They also make sure the applicant doesn't have a personal agenda that would interfere with their Grand Jury duties.
This year's Grand Jury is made up of nine women and ten men, and three of the members are returning from last year.
The main job of the Grand Jury is to watch local governments and make sure they are governing honestly and efficiently.
The beginning of their term is spent learning about the local governments they will be watching.
“The grand jury is educated by those people that are in county government," Ellsworth said. "They come in and speak to the grand jury about how their department works, or how their division works, or how their office works, and that is extremely helpful to the incoming Grand Jury.”
The Grand Jury's term begins July 1 and goes through June 30 of next year.
