East Los Angeles Courthouse

The worse security check point ever. It’s worse than the airport and the big boys in DTLA. No belt, no lighter, not even matches!

So far so good. Was here to take care of some business at the sheriff’s office. Really quick service, really professional and polite. Even the guards at the front were nice.
Gotta check back in up to 2 weeks on my request so I’ll update my review accordingly if anything changes.
By the way, free parking up to a certain hourly limit. I think it was 2 or 3 hours. There is also a park nearby.

They say that justice is blind. I’d say that it doesn’t help that the judicial system is so screwed that we’re fooled into thinking that injustice is just a matter of having a poor eye prescription.
But Justice is not only blind, it’s also stuck with the self interest of the state as well as what must be a flat tire, given how slowly those wheels tend to move.
I’ll admit it, I’ve been here way too often in the past few years and not in the aspect that you’d think. It seems like I have had a really bad couple of years for legal issues where I’m the victim of various crimes as well as stuck on jury duty. Add in the whole being a persuaded to be a witness in a case against criminals, it’s had me come here various times and I have to say this is one poorly functioning court house.
That’s not even starting with the notion that the phrase justice is just meaningless unless the state wets its beak.
Restitution is said to make one whole again. In my experience, it’s just an excuse for the state to grab their forced amount and leave the victim high and dry.
Nothing happens without the state getting their pockets lined first. In all the cases where I’m owed some sort of compensation for property damaged, it seems like the court would rather make sure that the state is paid back first before ever even thinking about the victim of said crime.
In all three of those cases the district attorney told me flat out «Not to get your hopes up as 99% of the time the person never sees the amount owed to them.»
Gee, thanks. Way to instill the confidence and make me feel like my time hasn’t been completely wasted helping you out here.
In one case I had to be a key witness and my goodness, I actually felt threatened. As if my safety was on the line. And then one night police hassled me on the streets pulling up a traffic infraction and missed court appearance that I had already rescheduled. Only the officers issued me a new summons and, in error, directed me to come to this court room on the day of. I get there and no record shows up.
A day later I get a letter telling me about their error in the mail. Too late, I already had another failure to appear struck against me. For a fix it ticket. ugh. So the whole process in this court is just annoyance. on all counts.
No wonder people get tired of the system. Once it gets you, it doesn’t want to let you go until they’ve squeezed every last drop out of you and provided you with nothing in return.

I came here to pay for a ticket. Wow! This place is really nice! I am used to the courthouses in downtown LA and Van Nuys. This new building next to a park and lake is really awesome. And they were pretty nice inside too. I know I’d rather come here then the one on hill or grand.

I’ve gone to other courthouses and their service SUCKS with a capital S… they’re usually slow, their clerks are lazy and have the vitality of a corpse and unwillingness to help anyone. But i gotta say, their window service people at the traffic section are fast, friendly and do it all with a smile.

Stunning. It’s so shiny and new. The only thing shinier is the brand of justice that comes out of this place, especially in traffic court. I thought East L.A. was supposed to be ghetto? This place is nicer than ½ the cribs shown on MTV. That’s where I get my crib info.

Pasadena and Alhambra Courthouse are better.

Jury duty.
Second time at this location.
What??? No more smoking in that little patio outside of the jury room???
Egads. Oh well.
I wasn’t there very long today because I had to ask for a postponement.
What I do like is the location. Very easy to get to. I noticed that a Metro Station is being finished up right outside the Civic Center.
Free parking in a structure right next door to the courthouse.
Two little modern strip malls across the street on Mednik Avenue. Plenty of eateries. Good thing because there’s no snackbar in the courthouse. I stopped by the coffee shop after being released. Was it Coffee Bean or Starbucks? I forget.
There’s a branch of a county library on the 3^rd Street side of the center. When I go back, I’ll be sure to check it out.
Belvedere Park is across from the courthouse entrance. It looks a lot nicer these days. I remember going there as a kid to catch mutant guppies in the pond. There were quite a few people doing their early morning walks on the paths.
The Room Where Potential Jurors Are Stuck For A Day (nicest description I could come up with):
It’s way smaller compared to the downtown room.
Single person restrooms right there where everyone can see you go in & out. I heard a muffled fart coming from the Men’s Room & gagged. Okay, so next time I’ll sit more towards the front.
Computer stations in the back.
Fridge & microwave for anyone to use.
Not bad at all here.
I’ve decided that this is my favorite courthouse to do jury duty in. I’ll gladly come back to fulfill my civic duty. *I’m lying about the «gladly». If I do have to go in, I’m usually crossing my fingers with ‘Don’t pick me. Don’t pick me’ going through my brain all day*

So,
I had my first court date today when I was going to attempt to fight a ticket. I have never fought a ticket before I usually go to traffic school or wait out the 3 years etc. Anyways my officers name was Officer Welch. I think he had it out for me from the get go. Never-​the-​less I was found guilty because he did show up. His recollections of events was WRONG but he is the cop so out of default the judge found me guilty. It made me sad because the ticket was for tail gating and I really wasn’t in this instance. He didn’t even have the right color of my car he was like a gray car uhhh my car is black. He accused me of arguing with him saying 1 car length was enough BUT I was more than 2… Anyways if you ever want to fight a ticket the only way you will not be found guilty is if the officer dismisses it or he/​she doesn’t show up. So best of luck to you if you do :)