Heads up, haters. Heres part II. I am astonished today by the number of people who believe grand juries are akin to Mensa chapter meetings. I have a lot of painful experience with grand juries. I was forced against my will to spend several sessions, over several months, with a grand jury in San Diego. And I came to know this: They are acts of political theater, where only one side -- the prosecution -- speaks. There is no rebuttal, no balance. There is only a prosecutor hoping to make his/her name. So indictments are as common as -- well, ham sandwiches. (Ferguson excepted.) My learning curve came at the expense of a never-dapper, never-witted prosecutor Ill call Phil H. (Georgina Verdugo will know him as the Baseball Card King.) Phil, who donned a Dan Rather vest even in 80-degree heat, was the ringmaster. He would thunder and roar at the not-so-grand jurors, who ate almost constantly during my testimonies (large bags of Fritos and pretzels, I remember vividly). Phil, with all his holy-roller outrage, would pump up his puny chest and bellow, Tell us again, Mrs. Smith, the amount of that FEDERAL contract. And I was required to comply by saying, One million dollars. To which Phil would bellow, ONE MILLION DOLLARS, ladies and gentlemen. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH ONE MILLION DOLLARS? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES WITH ONE MILLION DOLLARS? (Editorial comment: Buy Fritos?) There was never an opportunity to give context, to provide information that was essential to what really happened. Because thats wasnt part of Phils one-sided plot line. I dont know what happened in the grand jury in Missouri, but I know already the proceedings in San Diego were more fair, because there was a charge against an individual before the grand jury convened. In Ferguson, Mr. Wilson was never charged before his case was trotted off to the grand jury. It might be worth it to ask why.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 01:43:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015