I was subpoenaed as a witness for a criminal case. This was actually the 4th subpoena; there was a continuance at each of the prior court dates. All this just for a preliminary hearing. Basically there was a fraud case at work where an employee stole cash from the company. My team finally found this after several years and since it was my responsibility as the Treasurer, I was providing information to the police and the district attorney so now that the case is going to court, my name is listed as the primary witness. Typically they inform you when the case has been delayed but I guess either they forgot or I didn't get the message.
Since the hearing was at 8:30 am at LA Airport court, I left the house at 6:00 am to make sure I wasn't late. Of course I get there way too early at ~7:30 am so I sat in my car for about 20 minutes reading the subpoena, making sure I read all the instructions. At about 7:50 am I show up at the juror/witness parking structure and was told it was full. It was also the employee parking lot and they get preference, even for disabled spots. I was directed to the pay lot outside the court building where they charged $6.00 per hour. Luckily my disabled placard was still valid so I parked for free. I then got in line, waited for the building to open at 8:00 am, and went through the metal detector along with hundreds of people: jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and defendants.
The instructions found in the subpoena directed me to report to a specific courtroom the court building. Initially all the doors were locked but the courtroom was opened at 8:40 am. It was a large courtroom with room for 145 spectators. Interestingly, there did not seem to be a jury box. Maybe it was a courtroom for administrative proceedings like preliminary hearings. There were 30+ cases scheduled; mine was #2. To be sure, I asked the bailiff if I was in the right place and he told me to check in with the district attorney. When I talked to her, she told me that the hearing has been delayed again. The defendant's lawyer was at another trial so they asked for another continuance. The DA apologized that I wasn't informed and wasted my time by going to the courthouse. Since I had nothing scheduled, I decided to stay in the courtroom and find out the new date.
Unfortunately, the cases were not called in order. I think it depends on when the DA or defense lawyer showed up. They seemed to call cases at random so I ended up staying for two hours and heard about 10+ cases before my case was called. In each case, the hearing seems to be about picking dates for another hearing. Maybe something productive was decided in a case after I left but for two hours, it was nothing but calendar dates. Sometimes the defendant was on bail so they showed up in the courtroom like everyone else, other times they were brought through a side door in prison clothes and handcuffed. One defendant was a no show so the judge forfeited his $100k bail and probation, and issued a bench warrant for his arrest. Wow!
When my case was called, the defendant was already in the courtroom in the spectator area. I didn't even notice him even though we worked together for several years. I'm not sure if he recognized me either. Anyway, he went up with another lawyer and they chose another date next month. I did hear the judge say this is the last continuance so I guess I'll have to show up to that hearing for sure.
Since there were many cases on the docket, there was a lot of lawyers and spectators. I saw many families come to see the defendant, even if only for a minute. For one case, I saw a young girl come out in handcuffs and she waved towards her family. She was in court for about 60 seconds to pick a new hearing date, then she was walked out while waving to her family again. I kinda felt sorry for her until I looked up her case. One count of 187(a) and two counts of 451(b). Yikes!
187.
(a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.
451.
A person is guilty of arson when he or she willfully and maliciously sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned or who aids, counsels, or procures the burning of, any structure, forest land, or property.
(b) Arson that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.
