I, myself, expressed to the Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney there my belief that empanelling the grand jury was an absolute waste of taxpayers’ resources, especially given that the company indicted, Movie Gallery, was going through bankruptcy at the time and closed at least one of its local stores, and the reality that almost certainly much more objectionable material is much more readily accessible (for free) from the Internet. The whole thing just seemed like a farce to me.

But it seems like crackpots have been fairly successful in getting grand juries empanelled, of late. Look at the big mess down in Gloucester County (see the Daily Press for more details), where the Commonwealth’s Attorney empanelled a grand jury that indicted members of the Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff for criminal offenses (including common law misdemeanors!). I believe all charges against the Supes were dismissed once the Commonwealth’s Attorney there was disqualified by the Court and a special prosecutor was brought in (I don’t know what happened with the Sheriff) and the folks who were behind this and the related petition drive to remove these Supes have been sanctioned by the Court (rightfully so) with about $80,000.00 of the legal fees that the Supes had to expend to fight this. See Chapter 876, 2009 Acts of Assembly, for the idiocy that followed from our legislature, at the behest of those who were sanctioned.