I just sat on my first jury. It was a stupid case. Guy was charged with felon in possession of a firearm. The defense called no witnesses, did very little cross-examination and the defense lawyer basically let the prosecutor testify and ask leading questions without objecting.
The defendant was clocked doing 74 in a 40, failed to stop right away, then pulled into a parking lot and drove clear across the lot before finally stopping. The prosecution speculated that during that time, he or his passenger at his direction, was hiding the gun. He had no driver's license and no insurance and appeared nervous to the cop, which led to a search. Defendant gave the cop permission to search his vehicle and the gun was found, not in the glove compartment, but somehow under the glove compartment. It fell out when the cop managed to jimmy open the glove compartment, which was stuck because the gun was blocking it from opening.
He initially claimed the gun was his brother's but showed the officer how to unload it (it was a weird .22 handgun with both a clip and it broke like a double barrel shotgun) and told the officer on dash cam complete with audio, he knew the gun was in his car. That is the very definition of felon in possession of a firearm. I have no idea why he wasted my time and the time of 11 other jurors and one alternate, not to mention court staff and prosecutors, and not plead to the crime.
This guy had six previous felony convictions, mostly drug related charges, but also an aggravated assault, and served no time. He received only probation in those cases. He could have been sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. I wanted 15 years and no fine. We settled on 7 years and $1,000 fine. I still think he should have gotten more time if just for wasting everyone's time with a silly misguided trial with a disinterested defense attorney, who looked for all the world like he was just going through the motions, waiting for retirement and piña coladas on the beach.
The defendant was clocked doing 74 in a 40, failed to stop right away, then pulled into a parking lot and drove clear across the lot before finally stopping. The prosecution speculated that during that time, he or his passenger at his direction, was hiding the gun. He had no driver's license and no insurance and appeared nervous to the cop, which led to a search. Defendant gave the cop permission to search his vehicle and the gun was found, not in the glove compartment, but somehow under the glove compartment. It fell out when the cop managed to jimmy open the glove compartment, which was stuck because the gun was blocking it from opening.
He initially claimed the gun was his brother's but showed the officer how to unload it (it was a weird .22 handgun with both a clip and it broke like a double barrel shotgun) and told the officer on dash cam complete with audio, he knew the gun was in his car. That is the very definition of felon in possession of a firearm. I have no idea why he wasted my time and the time of 11 other jurors and one alternate, not to mention court staff and prosecutors, and not plead to the crime.
This guy had six previous felony convictions, mostly drug related charges, but also an aggravated assault, and served no time. He received only probation in those cases. He could have been sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. I wanted 15 years and no fine. We settled on 7 years and $1,000 fine. I still think he should have gotten more time if just for wasting everyone's time with a silly misguided trial with a disinterested defense attorney, who looked for all the world like he was just going through the motions, waiting for retirement and piña coladas on the beach.
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