Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992: Magic Summary & Analysis

In the spring of 1993, Smith interviews Gil Garcetti, who came into office as district attorney for Los Angeles in 1992. He replaced Ira Reiner, who had been in office during the riots. Garcetti is a handsome, physically fit man with prematurely white hair. He’s energetic and friendly. The head of public relations, Suzanne Childs, sits in on the interview. Garcetti describes how, contrary to popular opinion, jurors take their civic duty very seriously. Most criminal cases require a high level of proof. As a result, most serious jurors find that the prosecution fails to deliver the required evidence to deliver a guilty verdict. At the end of the day, Garcetti explains, most people trust the police and believe they are there to serve and protect the public. Most jurors haven’t had negative interactions with the police, and if they had, it’s generally something minor, such as a traffic ticket.

Because the broader culture makes people trust police officers, when an officer says something on the witness stand, “there is something magic / that comes over that individual.” If an officer comes in with guns strapped to his jacket, they’re less likely to win over the jury. However, if they come in dressed professionally and act politely, they convey to the jury that they are trustworthy and there to protect them. And people want to believe that the police officers are there to protect them, Garcetti notes, because people today “liv[e] / in a state of fear.” While the credibility of police is not quite as stable as it used to be, by and large, most people want to believe that the police are there to help them.