I was on a Grand Jury this summer. I know it wasn’t a trial jury, but I still feel like I got a huge insight into how the criminal justice system works.
It was sooooo boring, except for maybe 10 interesting minutes per session. The 10 minutes made it worth it. In all but one case, we were all pretty much on the same page with indictments. Makes you realize that the cases that actually make it to trial usually have a lot of strong evidence to pursue prosecution, at least the cases I was presented with.
In one case, a witness gave grim and upsetting testimony. It was very difficult to see the person upset and sobbing. We also had to look at graphic photos. That was hard.
After we voted to indict in one interesting case that is very much indicative of the current time we live in, the DA told us all that the person had prior convictions for much more serious crimes. I was really glad we had indicted after hearing that.
The biggest frustration was when a witness wouldn’t appear. I know almost nothing about that case, except that the alleged criminal had to be released after that. I can’t imagine the fear the witness must have been experiencing. I still wonder if they understand that the alleged perpetrator is walking free for now. Apparently, they have 6 months or so to secure an indictment, so maybe that will happen.