Four Oakdale residents and one Riverbank resident have been seated on the 2023-24 Stanislas County Civil Grand Jury.

Oakdale representatives on the panel include Jarrold Fouts, Scott Hicks, Carl Hill and Steven Webb; the Riverbank representative is Jeffrey Olson.

On Friday, June 30 in Department 24 of the Superior Court, Judge Sonny Sandhu presided over the selection of the 2023-2024 Civil Grand Jury. The jury’s term is for one fiscal year, which officially began July 1, 2023 and runs through June 30, 2024.

The grand jury’s purpose is to investigate and report on the operations of local government. The grand jury’s fact-finding efforts result in a written report which contains specific recommendations aimed at identifying problems and offering recommendations for improving government operations and enhancing responsiveness. In this way, the grand jury acts as a representative of county residents in promoting government accountability.

Presiding Judge Carrie Stephens appointed Jeffrey Olson, of Riverbank, Foreperson of the 2023-2024 Civil Grand Jury. She also appointed two members from the previous year as holdovers, those two including Jarrold Fouts of Oakdale and Timothy Moran of Modesto.

Sixteen names were then selected randomly to complete the 19-member grand jury panel. Four additional names were selected as alternates. The alternates would be asked to serve in the event that a regular grand juror resigns or is removed.

Immediately after the selection process and swearing-in ceremony, the new panel attended an orientation session. They will also attend a required training session presented by the California Grand Jurors’ Association, a not-for-profit educational organization, on Monday and Tuesday, July 10 and 11, 2023.