Service on a Federal Grand Jury

 I served on a Federal Grand Jury in Miami, Florida in the early 1980's.  I came from a pool of voters, had no reason to be disqualified, and completed the required forms, and my boss actually thought it would be a good experience(no problem with time off).

We heard a lot of drug related cases that were of significant size.  The cases were almost entirely video taped at hotels, motels,gas stations near the Miami International Airport or the suspect's house.  There were a lot of cases back then and they were usually related to cocaine.

The joke of a grand jury indicting a ham sandwich didn't apply but the cases we heard and saw were really open and shut.  These folks were not law abiding citizens coerced into doing something.  The votes were almost always unanimous.  

You might wonder how the Grand Jury process has been tainted and how the idea of due process has been modified these days.

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