Imagine being a juror in a criminal trial involving organized crime, in which there are multiple defendants and multiple parties and multiple gangs involved in a highly brutal act. You are driving your car to a small courthouse. You are parking your car next to witnesses from those organized criminal organizations. They're parking next to you. They're sitting there staring at you. They're intimidating you as a juror, because they know you're a juror in that case. They're watching you walk into the courthouse. They have your licence plate number. They know the make of your car. You're a juror sitting in your car, and you can't call anyone in the courthouse to say, “I'm in my car and I'm terrified and I want to come into the courthouse, please” because no one in the courthouse is picking up the phone. It's 8:30 in the morning and there's nobody there. You're sitting there and you're calling and calling, and you're terrified. There are bikers sitting on either side of your car. That's the story from a couple of jurors from different cases across the country. Court officials are parking down below in a secure parkade protected by a barrier and a guard. These individuals have to sit there and wait for the coast to clear. Can you imagine waiting for the coast to clear, and then going into the courthouse? And then months and years later, every time a Harley-Davidson turns over, they're thinking that bike is coming for them.
We owe basic security to individuals in cases like that. It's baffling that it's overlooked. Something so simple can be so devastating to somebody.