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Grand Jury in Philadelphia - Tuesday, April 19, 2005
My flight leaves Eugene somewhat early, so I'm, up by 6 am, get ready and we're out the door - EUG to SFO to PHL - an all day trip...The government provided my ticket and I got pretty decent seats, toward the front of the plane. Eugene to San Francisco was a little cramped, as the passenger next to me was of larger stature, but I had an empty seat next to me to Philly.
We flew over the old navy yard and the ball park on the way in. In the shuttle I took to the hotel I heard part of the game - Mets over Philly 18 to 4 in the 6th inning I think it was...
They had booked me a room at the Clarion in Cherry Hill, NJ - a slightly crumby hotel with a decent bar and restaurant. I say slightly crumby only because I couldn't get my television to switch to the local channels (could hardly read the menu either) and when I called the front desk on one of my room phones they couldn't hear me, nor could they when they called back.
"Hello, hello, can you hear me...?"
-click-
The Elephant & Castle was pretty decent (that's the restaurant/pub at the hotel). They had a wide variety of beers on tap and my steak wasn't bad. I had a Boddingtons cream ale and a Sam Adams. They didn't know what an IPA was, but I think that's more a Pacific NW thing (by way of India...).
After, I decided to walk up to the convenience store (2 blocks up according to the man behind the counter). I wanted to get a beer or two, go back to room and read for a bit before bed.
2 blocks was more like 5 and the convenience store inconveniently didn't carry beer. They told me there was a liquor store up on the left, so I set off again. I should've known better...
The utter lack of sidewalks and people speeding by at 70 in a 45 zone should've clued me in that people in New Jersey don't walk much, and therefore may have no concept of distance on foot. I gave up after a while, unfortunately I had walked far enough to pass the large dead cat in front of one of the side-by-side motorcycle shops. This meant passing it again on the way back. Did the shop really think its clientele wouldn't mind the smell...?
Back at the hotel, sweaty from the humidity and walk I found I could actually just order at the bar and take it to my room. Ordered at pint, quick shower, read for a bit and then to sleep (ish) at 1 am (10 pm my time).
6:45 am wake up call - 3:45 am my time - oh joy... Got up, grabbed a quick shower and got a call from the front desk saying my cab was there. He was 12 minutes early and I had to toss on my suit, try to tie my tie, pack up and check out. It was enough time, but I would've preferred he not come early. I think the pressure got to me with the tie, but it was a pretty good knot even so.
The cab ride was interesting, well beyond the $40 price tag. The cabby pointed out some cool stuff and talked about the history of Philly as we headed downtown. I saw the first air-conditioned building in the US, a statue of William Penn (i think it was), the dome of the aquarium and the Ben Franklin bridge. Now that was interesting!
He talked about how he used to walk it as a kid and what it was like the first he realized it swayed. He told me about the trains, and how they used to be horse drawn. But the most intriguing aspect to me was much more modern. As the cabby said, "New Jersey is the only state you have to pay to get out of," and lined up at the border were 10 or 12 toll gates with traffic backed up for miles.
We crawled forward and finally paid the toll and launched into our mad dash for the bridge, only so did the drivers passing through the other 11 or so gates. Between the gates and the bridge is this sort of plaza where 12 lanes are supposed to become 4. There are no lines, no directions, no sense to the mayhem whatsoever. Semis mix with commuters mix with cabbies mix with what I can imagine must be a healthy amount of swearing, and like a colander full of fresh-cooked spaghetti shoved through a garden hose, they merge down to 4 lanes in a bizarre morning dance that must be amazing to watch from the air.
The cabby had suggested I close my eyes, but I wouldn't have missed that - no way!
Okay, so I arrive, meet my attorney and we head up to meet with the Asst. US Attorney and a few DEA agents. We go through a briefing and interview and then we walk over to the courthouse. There, we have a last couple minutes, then I go in.
Aside from not being offered (nor provided with when asked for) a glass of water (seems silly if I have to talk a lot), it wasn't bad. A grand jury is like a normal jury in that it is made up of normal citizens (24, I believe), only there's no judge present, but there is a sort of moderator and a court reporter. No attorneys are present, save for the prosecutor (in this case the previously mentioned Asst. US Attorney) and the grand jury's job isn't to decide guilt or innocence, but rather to decide if there is enough of a case to indict and prosecute. I guess this the way federal crimes are handled.
I won't say what was said, nor what the case was about, but I think sharing the experience is worth doing. I was just a witness after all. The process seems pretty straight forward. I was sworn in, sat down and the the prosecutor asked questions. I answered. At any time I could've asked to be excused to consult with council before answering. After the prosecutor was done, the jurors were offered a chance to ask me questions. I answered. Then I was given a chance to say anything further. Then it was done and I suddenly had 6 hours to kill (with luggage).
We walked back to get our stuff from the prosecutor's office and changed into more comfortable clothes. It was muggy as hell and a suit and tie was too much for wandering around.
My attorney and I headed to the Reading Station Market, a really cool indoor market with loads of fresh produce, seafood and lots of little food counters featuring a ton of different options. I had Middle Eastern (almost a gyro, but with a humus based sauce rather than tzatziki) and Ron (attorney) had Americana (turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes).
Then we walked over to the Loews Hotel (Philadelphia), a really cool hotel built in an old art deco bank building right downtown. The brushed stainless steel phones in the lobby were a little cheeseball, but the old buiilding was extremely cool. We went up top and the views of downtown Philly are truly stunning. You're right up there among the tall spires of the city. William Penn's statue is at eye level and you can see for miles. I wouldn't mind staying in the penthouse... I also like how features of the old bank were still evident. The old vault door still stands just off the lobby, and other bits of the bank are scattered throughout. Way up top there's a dark stairwell going up to who knows what, but watch your step - one of the steps has a broken chunk of loose stone. Wouldn't want to take a tumble...
I called United from some quiet hall on an upper floor with big vies and comfortable modern leather and chrome furniture. I managed to get a flight for 2 hours earlier through Denver. I was very pleased until I got to Denver...
We set off a little late, but the pilot announced we had plenty of fuel, so could burn a bit extra to make up time. I sat next to two young siblings, both friendly, quiet and small. I don't mean to go on about the size of the other passengers, but I've had bad experiences where I've had to lean one way or the other because someone was just a bit large for their seat-space and needed some of mine. Lean sideways like that for 11 hours (or even 3) and your back won't forgive you for days... I don't mean to be insensitive, but the airlines cram us in so tight, I rejoice a bit inside when I see the passenger next to me is 5'2" and 90 pounds.
Anyway, back to the Denver. We were told to hold due to some "weather" around Denver. The pilot said we should have enough fuel to hold for 30 minutes or so, but then would have to take an alternate option. He announced several more times that we should be fine, but could always land in Pueblo or Colorado Springs if need be. These women, four of them I think, with deep Southern accents and volume of voice set about 8 notches too high - I think they were teachers and used to reaching the back of the class with every word, or maybe they were drunk - kept going on about the pilot was giving them too much information and how they should complain and then laughing. Personally, I liked knowing what was going on - always do - so didn't really relate to their big booming conversation and cackles. The girl next to me was really annoyed as well. I wonder if we all were...
We finally landed (an hour late) and I trucked off to my gate only to wait for a couple hours while flights were cancelled, planes were inspected for hail damage and passengers would wander back off the jet-way from planes I had seen them board an hour or more before - bathroom runs.
I did finally board and we did finally take off (2 hours late). It was just a little slip of a plane with one air hostess, 1 bathroom and 2 seats on either side of the aisle. Aside from the man behind me poking me in the head with his newspaper, the flight was pleasant enough. I had a front seat to myself, next to an empty seat and was the first off the plane. I bought a red wine which hit the spot nicely and tried to read and doze for the rest of the trip. My wife picked me up (I missed her!), drove us home and I went to sleep at 1 am, later than I would have had I just taken the later flight and just over 21 hours since I had got up that morning to testify.
Those two days felt like a week...
- Created:
- Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 11:30 AM