Valkyre's Weblog

Grand Jury Fun!

So, I get a summons a few weeks ago. I am ordered to go to the downtown Los Angeles Courthouse. They are selecting a grand jury. Grand juries are different from regular juries. They are used in "high profile" cases, where they don't want the press hanging around and leaking possible evidence, etc. And, they are also used in other cases where witnesses might be reluctant to testify, or possibly in danger, if they do. The prosecution presents evidence and witnesses to the grand jury, and it is up to them to decide whether or not there is enough evidence to go to trial. No defense lawyers are present during this time. Everything is all secretive and hush-hush. They called in people from all over the county, and they will select 14 jurors from that pool. They have to serve for a month. (You don't have to show up every day. You can call in to see if you are needed.) So, I had to drive into downtown Los Angeles this morning. I wasn't looking forward to it. I haven't commuted into downtown for about 20 years. And, I figured that the traffic would have to be much, much worse. But, it wasn't too bad. Except that some things never change. There is this one offramp. Gage Avenue; 20 years ago, traffic would always slow down there. Well, it hasn't changed. This is taken through the windshield. Traffic may look like it's moving, but barely. You can see the brake lights as people start to bunch up. I was probably moving all of 5 miles an hour when I took this.

So, I was hoping to get some nice images of the downtown skyline, but it was too hazy. I could hardly see the buildings. I did get this one of the street in front of the courthouse. (Notice the plate on the Cadillac in front of me? It's a lawyer.) Right when I snapped, an LAPD car drove by:

Posted by Valkyre at October 6, 2003 09:01 PM