MARIETTA - The findings of Cobb's grand jury have made headlines in recent months, mostly because of harsh criticism leveled at the Cobb County School Board and the school district.

The grand jury's duty in criminal cases is simple: To determine whether there is probable cause to prosecute someone for a felony.

But for those who have never served on a grand jury or known someone who has, the grand jury's civil duties and procedures remain a bit of a mystery.

Here are some frequently asked questions - mostly regarding the civil investigations - with answers from District Attorney Pat Head, who is the lawyer for the grand jury.

Q. Who can serve on the grand jury? How many people are on one?

A. U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years old and have lived in Cobb for at least six months are eligible to serve. The code also specifies that grand jurors are "the most experienced, upright and intelligent persons within the community."

Cobb's Superior Court Clerk is responsible for calling grand jurors, and can subpoena as many as 75 people at a time. Then 23 jurors, plus two alternates, are chosen from that group, for a total of 25 grand jurors.

Q. How long does a grand jury work? How often do they meet?

A. There are six grand jury terms each year, and each term lasts for two months. So the 25 grand jurors who are selected in early January, for example, will finish in early March. During the two-month term, the jurors meet every Thursday to review criminal indictments, and on Fridays for civil investigations.



Q. Are there limits on who or what the grand jury can investigate?

A. Yes. The grand jury's authority to inspect and investigate is limited to county government offices, county buildings, any public authority of the county, the offices of any county officer, any county court or court official, the county board of education and the county schools superintendent, and any record, account, property or operation of those. The jury could only go beyond the county offices if so ordered by a Superior Court judge. For example, when the new Marietta High School was built, it went over budget by tens of millions of dollars. A lot of people wanted the grand jury to investigate, Head said, but the grand jury could not, because it is a city school.

"Only if the judge had ordered the grand jury to investigate it could they have done that," he said.

A civil committee of the grand jury has no authority to investigate private businesses or companies.

The grand jury is required to inspect all jails in the county at least once a year, and all recommendations the grand jury makes regarding the jails must be followed.

Once every three years, the grand jury is to examine the offices and operations of the clerk of Superior Court, the judge of the Probate Court, and the county Treasurer or comptroller. They also must inspect the physical offices of the District Attorney, but because that is a state agency, the jury may not review its operations.

Q. So how does the grand jury go about investigating a particular county office?

A. By committee. It takes a vote of eight to form a committee, and at least three grand jurors must serve on the committee. At the end of the term, the committee writes a report, and at least 12 grand jurors must vote to make that report part of the official grand jury presentments. Grand juries may not make derogatory comments about a particular individual in their presentments.

Q. How do grand jurors decide which witnesses to call?

A. Most of the time they do not have witnesses. Instead, the jurors go to a location and just talk to the people there. If they need more information then generally they will ask a department head or elected official who would be able to answer their questions.

Q. Do they subpoena witnesses?

A. They have the authority to do so. Usually for the civil committees we just call whomever they wish to speak with and the person will voluntarily show up.

Q. Do witnesses testify under oath that they are telling the truth?

A. Always for the indictments, but generally not for the civil committees. "Because of the complexity of the (Cobb Schools) bus investigation, the Jan.-Feb. 2010 grand jury did ask that those witnesses be under oath," Head said.

Q. Are grand jury discussions on civil matters secret?

A. No.

Q. Can grand jurors question witnesses?

A. Yes.

Q. Does the grand jury send out notices inviting anyone with information about a particular agency to voluntarily appear before the grand jury?

A. No. "Normally, if people have information that they want the grand jury to have, they send it to me," Head said. "And if I get something that's addressed to the foreperson of the grand jury, I give it to the foreperson, unless it pertains to something they don't have any authority over, such as a city council."

Q. What are the presentments? Do the recommendations carry any weight?

A. "Their presentments and recommendations - except those having to with jails - are just that: recommendations," Head said. "The county is run by those who are elected to serve. To me, at least, every one of those grand jurors is a voter. I would take the recommendations seriously, because I was elected by the voters of this county, and those grand jurors are voters. If I am truly serving my constituents, I want to listen to what the voters say."

The presentments are read in open court at 4 p.m. on the last Thursday of each term. They are then filed with the clerk of Superior Court, and published as a legal advertisement in the Journal.

Q. How much are grand jurors paid?

A. $25 per day of service.

Q. Does someone outside the grand jury sort of watch over them?

A. The district attorney is the lawyer for the grand jury, and offers legal opinions and advice. In Head's office, the public information officer, Kathy Watkins, acts as his liason to the grand jury and handles some administrative paperwork. She arranges transportation for the civil committees, and she is the one who makes the phone calls to ask people to come talk to the grand jury civil committee.