I was summoned for jury duty at the Federal District Court in Los Angeles for two weeks of service commencing on March 22nd. As directed I called the court hotline on the 21st and found I was off the hook for that week. Calling again on the 28th I was told to report to the jury room at 7:45 the following morning.
So I left home at 5:00 a.m. and zoomed to the court parking lot in downtown Los Angeles arriving at 6:30, perfect. It was a nice 1/2 mile walk in the awakening city to my favorite breakfast spot in that area, Phillipe’s (upper left photo, 7:05 on the clock therein) to eat and read all the interesting history on the walls about steam trains and other fascinating topics. Afterward it was back to the car to grab some stuff I wanted to have with me then over to the courthouse (left building in the upper right photo — that’s me in the third floor window).
By 11:30 half of us had found out that “our trial” had been continued but that we needed to stay until the jury selection process completed for the other half. So back to the car to switch into more comfortable clothes and back to Phillipe’s for a lamb sandwich, baked apple, and glass of lemonade. After lunch it was a great walk through Chinatown (very nice banner above), Olivera Street, the beautiful Union Station (image 4), and the Pueblo de Los Angeles before the return to the courthouse where at 1:20 p.m. we were told that the other jury had completed selection and our jury service was finished, finis. By then I was feeling pretty tired so I hopped in the Volvo and bee lined for home, arriving just eight hours after I’d left.
For verification, reimbursement, and/or credibility here is my juror badge.
2 Responses to “A fun day of jury service in the city of my birth”
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Thanks for showing up to serve…I sat on a 3 month trial.You got excused…from experiencing 12 folks hearing the same testimony, yet discovering how differently jurors can think during verdict deliberation.
Too fun! In 1995, I spent a month on a trial in that building. A guy from Los Osos was accusing two police departments of “unnecessary force”. It was in the same court room (and same judge), as the Delorean trial. Down the hall, the Heidi FleissTrial was going on, and one Beach Boy was suing another one, in another court room. Outside the Jury deliberation room, we could see the entrance to the county court house, it was a circus because they were doing Jury selection for OJ Simpson. Those of us that were from out of town stayed in a Hotel in Japantown then switched to the Bonadventure hotel after a week or two. People don’t realize how much down time there is when you are serving on a long case like that. You get thrown in a room with 11 strangers and the only thing you have in common (this trial), you can’t talk about!
It was an adventure.