We proudly served as volunteer members of the 2025–26 Tuolumne County Grand Jury. Our service has ended, and we now speak solely as private citizens and for ourselves. Everything discussed here comes from the Grand Jury’s published reports, public County records, or open meetings of the Board of Supervisors.After watching the Board discuss and respond to the Grand Jury reports on September 1st, we believe the public deserves to understand how a Grand Jury is required to work.
The Grand Jury is selected by the Superior Court and consists of ordinary citizens from different political viewpoints, age groups, and walks of life. Last year’s jurors included a pastor, small-business owners, a stay-at-home parent, a military veteran, a multinational company COO, a law student, a search-and-rescue volunteer, a master gardener, a retired banker, and others.
Grand Jurors are instructed to corroborate facts rather than rely on unverified allegations. California law requires the concurrence of at least 12 jurors before a final report may be issued. Whatever anyone thinks of the conclusions, these reports cannot reasonably be dismissed as the work of one disgruntled juror or a small faction.
The County’s responses claim that certain officials were targeted. The published reports do not support that characterization. Supervisor Brandon was quoted for something he said publicly. The reports identify facts and public records concerning Supervisor Holland. Statements concerning CAO Root relate to things he said or did publicly in his official role.
Sometimes facts are uncomfortable. That does not make them personal attacks.
Civil Grand Jury reports undergo legal and judicial review before publication. Although that does not mean the reviewers endorse every conclusion, it is part of the required process.
The reports did not order the County to do anything. They presented facts, made findings, and offered recommendations. When an agency states that a recommendation will be implemented in the future, California law requires its response to include a timeframe. Proposing a timeframe is not claiming authority to issue an enforceable order. Without one, the public cannot know whether a promised action was completed or quietly abandoned.
That is accountability.
The County’s responses were unnecessarily aggressive and adversarial. The message seemed to be: “The Grand Jury asked questions we did not like, and we are going to explain why they had no business asking them.” Disagreement is part of government, but attacking the investigators’ credibility or dismissing the process does not address the substance of their findings.
Sixteen citizens devoted months of their lives to investigating issues affecting this community. Their reports went through the required review process and were published for the public to evaluate. People may disagree with the conclusions, but disagreement is not evidence that the investigation was unfair.
After limited discussion of three reports, the Board voted 3–2 to approve every response exactly as written.
That vote raises serious concerns about the appearance of impartiality. Supervisor Holland said he believed he had been personally targeted, yet participated in the decision and voted with the majority to approve the responses exactly as written. Those concerns are especially significant because recommendations involving his project could require costs to be borne by the property owner.
The meeting also revealed that County officials met separately with Supervisor Holland to review the responses concerning his project before presenting them to the full Board. Other supervisors questioned why they were not given the same opportunity.
The Grand Jury gave this County its time, energy, and best effort. Its members were not perfect, no group of citizens is, but we took our responsibility seriously. We wish the Board had responded with the same seriousness and respect.
The Grand Jury is not the enemy of County government. It is the citizens’ watchdog – Tuolumne County residents helping their government do better.
Respectfully,
Jessica Cox
Nancy White
Nyssa Rodriguez
Luis Alecio
Annie Dean
Sabrina Biehl
Geoffrey Smith
Trinity Baughn
Kathleen Butler
Morgan Vaughn
Sean Losik
Lori Simaz
Martin Nash
Former members of the 2025–26 Tuolumne County Grand Jury, signing solely in our individual capacities as private citizens.
