By Brandon Blanco
WOODLAND, CA – In surprise turn of events in Yolo County Superior Court Tuesday, a jury trial involving a drunk driving case was delayed for 45 minutes – and later the charges were dismissed by Judge Timothy Fall, and the accused walked free.
Jane Doe (not named because charges were misdemeanors) was represented by her attorney James Granucci. Jane Doe faced both driving under the influence (DUI) and drunk driving charges.
The prosecution apparently was unprepared to present its case Tuesday, or Monday. Deputy District Attorney Aaron Rojas petitioned Judge Timothy Fall to dismiss the two charges in light of the circumstances, which Judge Fall agreed to do.
Judge Fall made some final statements to the jury, on how despite the unforeseen circumstances, he thanked the jury for attending.
His comments include:
“Whether a jury reaches a trial, it resolves early as this one, or a jury gets hung, I appreciate jurors regardless of how far juries reach because we live in a society where we get to vote and do democracy, whether it is to vote for school board or voting for governor.
“Occasionally we engage in direct democracy for legislative and executive branches… we vote for initiatives for (them) to become law… For the judicial branch, direct democracy is when people serve on jury and you tell the result of the jury.
“There are few countries who have the jury system coming from the English common law. Most countries do not have (that); a lot of them have sophisticated judicial systems, so if you talk to someone from France or Japan, they’ll tell we do not have that tradition as you do.
“If you told them (people outside of the U.S.) ‘I was brought into court along with other people and the case was turned over me and others and we came up to a decision and the judge was bound by that decision,’ they would not know what you are talking about.
“Even if there was no decision from this jury, I am glad that we have this process and that you take part of… thank you for your jury service,” Judge Fall concluded without any further explanation about the case.
