Sustain LAist today!

Your monthly gift during our June member drive powers our local newsroom.
1,485 sustainers of 2,500 goal
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Courting Attention

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

LAist has been an avowed trial watchers for many years now.

We've seen crazies wash in and out of the Los Angeles court system; Sometimes they are the the plaintiffs, sometimes they are defendants and sometimes they are officiants. But the weirdest have to be the jurors and the spectators.

To wit, we've learned that a jurorwho helped acquit actor Robert Blake of killing his wife is promoting a six-song recording he produced during the Blake trial...Roberto Emerick publicized his album, "Judgement Day," during an appearance on CNN's Larry King this weekend. Our 3/21/2005 edition The Hollywood Reporter says, "the album's title track looks at what Blake might have been thinking as he waited for jurors to reach their verdict."

But wait, there's more. Associated Pressis now distributing a report that during the Michael Jackson trial, "a brief disturbance involving a spectator occurred in the courthouse Tuesday morning when a woman spoke to a deputy before a break and then walked out into a corridor and fell face-first to the ground. When deputies tried to help her she began screaming and trying to recover a notebook she was carrying."

No doubt she was upset to lose notes that she thinks she's can sell as a blockbuster book once the trial's wrapped up. She's probably right.

Where do these people come from? Is it the constant media attention that now makes courts of law an appropriate venue for popular spectacle or has every aspect of life turned into reality entertainment?

Sponsored message

We're surprised some wag hasn't hacked the video cameras at 7-11 and hooked up a live feed of "Idiots: 24/7" or "Robbery Roulette"...

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today