Civics lesson

For the last two days my posting has been light because I've been at jury duty. I was selected as part of a 30 juror panel for an armed robbery case. The jury selection lasted two days and I found out at about 5:00 pm that I was not selected for the jury. I have mixed feelings about that because while work is piling up on my desk at the office, it's very illuminating to see how the justice system really works, as opposed to the way its portrayed on TV or in the movies.

Life is full of coincidences and one of them is that Carlos Miller, a local freelance photographer and blogger with who I don't really agree on much, is having his trial in the same courthouse this week. You may remember that he was arrested when he took some pictures of cops investigating an accident scene on Biscayne Blvd. Carlos has maintained his innocence all along.

I am rooting for Carlos because despite our differences of opinions he has a right to photograph our public servants while they work. I bought an image from Carlos for a recent piece I wrote for Pajamas Media, though the editor chose to go with different image. It goes to show you that you can disagree without being disagreeable.

Anyway, once I was excused from my case, I came down to the courtroom where Carlos' trial is taking place. I caught the last prosecution witness (a cop who admitted that there was an error in the police report and who got tripped up when asked when, in fact he had even read the report which was filed by another officer).

I also saw Carlos take the stand for himself. Right now we're waiting for the jury to eat dinner so that we can hear closing arguments.

Posted by Henry Louis Gomez at June 17, 2008 06:54 PM

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Posted by: CubaWatch at June 18, 2008 03:03 PM

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