Voir Dire

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to update this again – I was emotionally exhausted by the time it ended and I really need a little time to recover. I didn’t want to think about it for a while, let alone write about it.

On with the story –

The case, as it turns out, was about child molestation.

Voir Dire went on for almost a week. Each potential juror was asked a number of questions. They wanted to know what city you lived in, what you did for a living. They wanted to know if you had a spouse or any other adults living in the house and their occupations too. They asked if we had children and if we’d ever been convicted of a crime. They also wanted to know if we, or anyone close to us, had been convicted of a crime or had been accused of or investigated for any kind of sexual crime. They wanted to know if we understood the concept of reasonable doubt and if we would hold it against the defendant of he did not take the stand, as was his right.
There were a lot of jurors who said, “Well, he wouldn’t be charged with so many crimes if he hadn’t done SOMETHING, so it I already feel that he’s guilty.” I don’t know if they meant that or were just trying to get out of jury service. One guy admitted that he had been charged with cultivating marijuana, which got a chuckle from the courtroom. One older woman said something along the lines of she might find the lawyers annoying. I knew immediately she would get dismissed because the lawyers would assume she would put them on trial, not the defendant. She was indeed dismissed.

In some cases the judge would dismiss them for out and out bias, as in the case of the man who said he had children and numerous nieces and nephews and would just be too angry to be impartial. In other cases either the defense or the prosecutor would say something like, “We thank and excuse juror number 5.” Then the next name on the list was called and it would go from there.

Another juror was excused and suddenly my adrenaline suddenly shot through the roof. I reached down to grab my bag because somehow I knew my name was going to be called next. Sure enough, the clerk read out my name and I made my way to seat number 11. I got to my seat and the judge asked me the same thing she had asked countless other potential jurors the past few days: Miss X, you’ve heard the questions we’ve asked the other jurors, is there anything you have to tell us?

I explained that I had previously sat on two juries. She asked me when, what kind of trials they were and had we reached a verdict. They were both criminal trials and we had reached a verdict in each case. Then, to my total embarrassment, I had to explain that I had a family member who had spent time in jail in another state for a non-violent crime. I can’t tell you why it was embarrassing, after all, it wasn’t ME that had committed the crime, but I guess I felt kind of dirty by association. I’m sure they’ve heard it all and much worse, but I felt my face flush with shame. I explained that I had not been in contact with this person for at least 20 years and I had no information if they had gone to trial or just pled guilty. I only knew they had served the time and what crime they had committed. I also explained that I had been the victim of crime before. My home had been burglarized and my car had been broken into. In both cases no one was caught. I was asked if there was anything about the nature of the case that made me think I could not be fair and impartial? No. Did I know anyone in law enforcement? No. Did I understand the concept of presumption of innocence? Yes. Did I understand that the defendant had the right not to testify? Yes. If he chose not to so, would I hold it against him? No. Had anyone in my family or close to me ever been accused of, convicted of or even investigated for the same type of crime as this or any kind of crime related to this? No. Was there any reason I could think of that would keep me from being a juror on this trial? No.

I then answered some demographic questions that had been pre-printed on a sheet of paper. They wanted to know my name, where I lived, what company I worked for and my job title, education level, my spouse’s name and occupation, and if I had any legal training (I don’t). Satisfied with the answers, the judge turned over questioning to the prosecutor. She wanted to know how long the murder trial had been (approximately two weeks). She asked me if I had the opportunity to be around children much. I told her that I did not. I have nieces and nephews, but don’t see them that much because they don’t live in the area.

The defense attorney asked me if understood the presumption of innocence and I stated I did. He asked what it meant to me. I told him it meant that the man sitting there at his table was an absolutely innocent person until the prosecutor proved otherwise and that just because he was here in this courtroom did not make him guilty of anything. I meant it too. I saw an innocent man sitting there.

He then asked me if I had ever heard of a case where someone was convicted and then later exonerated. I stated that I had and that it was usually through DNA. He then asked me if the jury was to blame in those cases. I answered that if everyone had done his or her job in good faith, it was certainly a travesty, but I have no idea if there was a particular person to blame. I didn’t think about the question just then, but as the trial went on, I thought about it and was appalled at this question on a number of levels. While I understand that the defense attorney was trying his case even before it officially started, I did not like the implication that if the jury found his client to be guilty that we would not only be getting it wrong but that we would be to blame.

Implying that we would be getting it wrong is just a sneaky way to plant a seed of doubt in a juror’s mind before the case even begins and I understand that part, but to take it a step further and also imply that we would be to blame is a different thing all together. I have no idea if there are rules about what an attorney can ask during voir dire, but I don’t think he should have been allowed to ask or imply it. It seems like pure emotional manipulation of a jury in an underhanded and frankly sleazy way before the case has even begun.

Do juries get it wrong sometimes? Undoubtedly. However, the question of blame is an unfair burden to place upon the jurors in this case or in any criminal case for that matter. It is burden enough to know that someone’s fate is in your hands. It is burden enough just to hear the ugly evidence of the case. It is burden enough to know that it is your responsibility to weigh that evidence carefully and impartially, follow the laws given to us and decide upon a verdict.
It did not affect my decision in this case in anyway, but I don’t think he should have been allowed to ask about or imply blame. It just doesn’t seem fair.

A little while later I found myself standing with 12 other people, raising my right hand while the court clerk said, “"Do you, and each of you, understand and agree that you will well and truly try the cause now pending before this court, and a true verdict render according only to the evidence presented to you and to the instructions of the court?" We all answered “yes” and the jury was set. We were six men and six women; 10 whites, 1 African American, 1 Asian.

After the jury was set they went through the questioning process with a few other people in order to find two suitable alternate jurors. The alternates were both women; one African American and one Hispanic. I don't know how the alternate jurors did it. It would be very difficult for me to hear the case and then not get to be a part of the deliberations, but they did not seem to mind.

Update

It's over and I can finally talk about it. More updates to follow very soon.

Into the Courtroom

(Photo Credit: Flickr User Tidewater Muse)

About 10 or 15 minutes after the video, Microphone Man called the first group of jurors to a courtroom. Mine was the 3rd or 4th name read and I went down the hall toward courtroom 222. As walked inside, I noticed that all the parties were standing for the jury as they filed in. I always wonder why they stand for the jury. Is it out of some kind of respect or is it just tradition at that point? If so, where did the custom come from? They do this every time we enter and depart.

Oh yeah, nothing gets by a jury – I noticed throughout the day the prosecutor was incredibly diligent about remaining standing until each and every juror was in the room. The defense was a little more relaxed about it and would sometimes sit if 90% of the potential jurors had entered the room. I wondered if he had a little less respect for jurors in general or was he just not as worried about making a good impression or something else? I didn’t hold it against him or form an opinion about it, I was just more curious than anything. There was one person at the prosecutor’s table and three at the defense table. They turned out to be the defense attorney, the defendant and his interpreter.

The courtroom is small and somewhat round. After all the seats in audience were filled, they asked people to sit in the jury box as well as 12 numbered seats that were set up in front of the jury box. Once all the jurors had made it into the courtroom, the clerk phoned the judge to let her know. A few minutes later the bailiff/sheriff said loudly, “All rise, department 222 is now in session, the honorable Judge Smith is now presiding” and we all stood for the judge. (Note :I have changed the name of the judge and the courtroom.) She had a warm, friendly demeanor that I immediately liked. She introduced herself and thanked us for coming into to do our jury service. She introduced all the parties and they passed out a calendar showing which days we would be in session and how long the trial was supposed to last. It was going to on for at least 4 weeks and there would be no sessions on Fridays.

The judge started off with dealing with hardships. One woman was on crutches. She stood, stated her name and explained that she had injured herself the week prior and was on pain medication. The judge thanked her and excused her. A man stood up and said he would be happy to serve, but he had a very important business meeting that could not be put off. The judge questioned him about this a little bit, asking if the meeting could be postponed or rescheduled. He explained that the meeting had already been postponed and it was extremely important. He also said stated that he would be more than happy to come back in a few weeks once the meeting was finished. This seemed to satisfy her and she let him off too, telling him to go to the jury room and set another date for a few weeks hence. A woman stood up and stated she had an important oral surgery appointment that would overlap with one of the trial dates. She had some kind of paperwork, which I assume was a note from the oral surgeon. She was released but also asked to reschedule her jury service for a date after the oral surgery. A woman stood up and said she had back problems and may not be able to sit for extended periods of time. The judge questioned her, asking if she were able to stand at times or when necessary, would that work for her? The woman stated that it might, so the judge kept her.

Next, four or five people stood up and declared they had trouble understanding English, including the proud new citizen. When the judge questioned her, it was obvious that she had no idea what the judge was asking. She just smiled, nodded and answered, “yes” to each and every question. She was excused and then back sat down, not understanding that she could leave. The judge indicated again that she was excused and it finally got through to her. She smiled and said, “thank you, thank you” as she left. The judge asked questions such as how long they had been in the country, what language they spoke at home and what difficulty they had with English. After questioning each of the non-English speakers thoroughly, the judge let excuse some and kept some. I could see that the judge was trying to be fair. She didn’t immediately release someone just because they were difficult to understand when they spoke. Her questions were gentle and she did not seem the slightest bit hesitant to ask them to repeat themselves if she didn’t quite understand what they said. She kept those who seemed to be able to understand her and answer the questions. As it turns out they too were eventually released, but I was glad she kept some of them to see how they did during voir dire.

I think at that point we went on a break. Upon returning from break, they read off the first 24 names from the random list and we all played musical chairs until those seats were filled. I was not one of the first 24 names called. These were the people who were going to be questioned first. The judge explained that we would now be answering some questions to determine if we were to serve on the jury and explained that if we were released from the jury it was nothing personal, it did not have any reflection on our competence and we shouldn’t take it personally. It was simply because it was important to find the right jurors for this case. She said that even if we were not the right jurors for this particular case, it’s very possible that we would be right for another case.

She then read the charges against the defendant. There were 21 charges in total and I believe there are 10 of one kind of charge, 11 of the other, but I could be wrong about the exact split. She couldn’t just read the charge and say, “there are 10 of those” or something like that, rather each one had to be read in its entirety. It took at least 20 minutes to read them. The mood has been light and curious before she read the charges and as she read them, the mood got dark and there was heaviness in the atmosphere that settled in the courtroom. I watched as people glanced at each other uneasily and remember thinking, “This is going to be a tough case.”

STFU Dude

(Photo Credit: Flickr User Black_Glen)

I don’t know his official title, but the guy managing the jury room was just about the most annoying person I have had to listen to in a very long time. He got on the microphone and this guy just LOVED to hear himself talk. This is the guy who had dreams of being on a stage entertaining audiences, but he ended up a jury room clerk instead. So he takes it out on his captive audience. What should have taken 2 minutes to explain instead took 20 minutes. He droned on an on, giving details in mind numbing, excruciating detail. He also loved the word “now.”

What he actually explained: a) at some point you will be called in groups into different court rooms, listen for your name, b) the jury duty slips for work and parking validation stamp are in the corner and c) the upstairs portion of the jury room is a quiet zone, please no talking or cell phone conversations up there.

What he actually sounded like and I am NOT making this up or exaggerating: “Yeah, I know it sucks that you have to pay for parking, but hey, the parking lot is directly across the street so you don’t have to walk too far, that’s not so bad, right? In the morning, punch the button that gives you the ticket and bring the ticket with you here to the jury room. Now, your ticket is that little beige piece of paper that’s about 2x3 or so with the little magnetic strip. (Really? Apparently getting a jury summons lowers your IQ to the extent that you have no idea what a parking lot ticket is. I'm just saying. ) Now, at least you don’t have to pay the full price, you only have to pay $3 instead of $4, so hey that’s something right? Sorry if you have complaints about the price of parking, I don’t make up the rules folks and I’m sure the owner of the parking lot has overhead like maintaining the structure, property taxes and paying their employees. Hey, you got to make money somehow right? Now, make sure to stamp your ticket every day. The rubber stamp is right over here in the corner along with the jury duty slips. You just use the ink pad and stamp the ticket on either side. There is a space there between the information about the parking structure on there somewhere, I'm sure you can make it fit. It doesn't matter what side you stamp it, but you have to stamp it to get the discount. Now, when you leave the for the day make sure you have stamped your ticket and give that to the person in the ticket booth and they will give you the discounted price of $3. (Really? It’s $3, because you never said that before!) If you don’t stamp your ticket, they won’t be able to give you the discounted price of $3 and you’ll have to pay $4. I’m sure you don’t want to pay that extra $1 in times like this with the way gas prices are, so just be sure to stamp it every day. Also, be sure to pick up your jury duty slips every day. The slips are those pieces of paper that say you came for jury duty so you can give them to your employer to prove that you were here. Now, if you don't have an employer or your are self employed, just not working or retired, then you don't need a slip. They are the white pieces of paper about 8 ½ by 5 or so with the date and court information on them. The date will change every day so you have to pick one up each day.

Okay, I fully admit that I'm not the patient type of person but it wasn't just me - at this point people started looking at each other in disbelief.

He continued, "Now, the upstairs of our jury room is the quiet zone. Now, you may not know this now, but if you serve more than one day some of you may really want that quiet zone. I remember this one time.. blah blah blah blah so the quiet zone is very important. I know you guys want to make phone calls to call your family, your loved ones, to your employer, to the mechanic or babysitter, so please do that downstairs or in the hallway, just don’t do that upstairs because that’s the quiet zone. Now, make sure to listen for your name so you know which jury room to report to. I will call out the names when the court calls me and tells me they are ready. Now, some of you may come up here and ask me when the court might be ready but all I can tell you is that I don’t know. Sometimes they call right away and sometimes you have to wait awhile, it’s really out of my control and that’s all I can tell you. I'm just telling you that because someone will ask and I just don't know. I don't know until the court calls that they are ready. It’s just one of those things where you just never know, so you may have to just have some patience. Sometimes they just aren't ready for a jury yet or maybe they are on a break or something like that. There are lots of reasons why they may not be ready for a jury, so if I were you, I would just sit back, relax and just wait for your name to be called."

Wasn’t that painful just to read? Imagine having to listen to that for 20 minutes. Argh! I have no idea what else he actually said because finally out of self-defense I just walked out of the jury room and stood in the hall. I thought I was going to snap if I had to listen to that guy talk anymore. Someone needs to tell him to shut the hell up. Hey man, step AWAY from the microphone.

Does anyone in that courthouse know they have some guy up in the jury room torturing people like that? Hasn’t anyone ever told him to keep it short?

He then told us we were going to watch a 10-minute video and I swear he took 10 minutes to almost verbatim explain the 10-minute freaking video. I took the opportunity to go the bathroom instead because I’ve seen the video numerous times in my lifetime. It's essentially pleasant people talking pleasantly about why you should be enjoying your jury service.

A Civics Lesson

As I traveled down to the Superior Courthouse that morning, I felt certain that even if by chance I made it into the jury box for voir dire, I would not be selected. Wouldn’t they want someone who had not already sat on a jury, let alone two juries? I was confident that one of the sides would excuse me due to my prior service. I was also kind of hoping that I’d get there, wait around for a while and then be excused. It’s happened before, it could happen again, right? I was already thinking ahead about getting released before noon, rushing home to get my dog and head out for a nice daytime off-leash hike. As it turns out, prior service didn’t seem to matter to them and I didn’t get to go on the hike I had been daydreaming about.

After waiting in a long line to be screened by the metal detector, I made my way to upstairs to the jury room. There I turned in half of the form and kept the small portion that was to become my juror badge. I also signed a piece of paper giving my measly $15/day jury pay back to the court system. If you get paid your regular salary during jury duty you must forfeit the fee. I understand the reasoning behind that, but it would be nice to get to keep it – at least that would pay for lunch. I also think you have to claim it as income on your taxes. They give you a measly $15 AND you have to claim it? That just doesn’t seem right. Those who actually get to keep their jury pay don’t get paid for the first day, only subsequent days. At least I get mileage after the first day so that’s something, since they saw fit to send me to a court 20 miles away when there are two court houses within 2 miles of my house. Did I mention that the mileage is less than the Federal rate? Sheesh.

After taking care of the paperwork, I sat down to hurry up and wait along with the other 75-100 people there. Looking around, I observed that my fellow potential jurors were all ages, races and apparent income brackets. It was a pretty good random sampling if you ask me. Out of general respect for the courtroom I had dressed as if I were going to the office - a skirt and blouse. Some, like me, were dressed in semi-business attire; men wearing slacks and a shirt, women wearing a blouse and slacks, but I noticed that a lot of others were dressed in jeans and t-shirts. I even saw one person wearing cut-offs and flip flops. Everyone was doing something: The woman across from me was knitting; some were doing crosswords, reading the paper or doing stuff on their laptops.

An older Asian woman came and sat down to my right. She was holding her jury duty notice in her hands and positively beaming as she rocked slightly in her chair.
I smiled and said, “Good morning.
She pointed to herself and said in a heavy accent, “Citizen. One year!”
Her pride in being a US Citizen was overwhelmingly apparent. She held up one finger to me to emphasize the time and said again, “one year!” She kept looking down at the form and grinning and then back up me.
“Congratulations.” I really meant it.
"One year citizen, now I am jury duty," she said, lifting her chin.
My initial resentment about being summoned again instantly evaporated and I decided right then to have a better attitude about it. To the rest of us jury duty was a chore, a bother, a hassle, an inconvenience; to this new citizen, getting to take part in the judicial system was an honor. And you know, she’s right. It is an honor to get to take part and I think we Americans often take our rights and responsibilities for granted.

I just wish I could see the look on her face on Election Day.

Summoned for Jury Duty (Again)

I was a bit surprised when the notice for Jury Duty came in the mail. What were the odds that I would be called again so soon? I had just sat on a short criminal trial 14 months previously.

(image credit: flikr user plemeljr)

It's not that I actually mind jury duty all that much – I’m one of those lucky people whose employer pays for jury duty no matter how long it takes - but I was slightly resentful at having been called again so soon. I have been summoned about 7-8 times and actually served on two juries in my lifetime. This will be the third. Personally, I think if you’ve actually sat in judgment on case, you should get a minimum of a 5-year reprieve from all jury service. I’ve already done my civic duty, surely there were other people who had either never been called or actually sat on a jury. Yeah, I know it's all random and the luck of the draw. But some of us (me) seem to get picked more than others. I wish I had the same odds playing the lottery.

On the other hand, I do understand that we have rights that are granted to us by virtue of being citizens of the United States and that those rights come with responsibilities. One of them is Jury Duty. It’s part of what makes our system so great. I really believe that. Especially in criminal cases - juries are what keep us safe from an over zealous or abusive government. As a juror you are a representative of your fellow citizens and you are what stand between the government and the accused.

I’m not tooting my own horn, but God forbid I ever found myself in front of a jury for something I would honestly want someone like me in the box. I can't see that happening, I've never even got a speeding ticket (I hope I didn't just jinx myself). Not that I've never sped mind you, just that I've never been caught.

In each case I sat on I took my duty and oath very, very seriously. Each case weighed heavily on my mind – and it should. When someone’s fate is in your hands, you must listen dispassionately and weigh all the evidence carefully. Unlike some of the potential jurors being questioned during voir dire, I honestly believe that the person sitting at the defendant’s table is absolutely innocent until the prosecutor proves he or she is not. Being charged with a crime does not make one guilty. I am honest, reasonably intelligent, pay attention, take copious notes, think about what the witnesses say, how it was said and what evidence was shown. I'm not perfect at it, everyone looks at things through their own filters so you can only try to be as objective as possible. Being cognizant of that is the first step.

I highly recommend that everyone who has the chance to serve on a jury do so at least once. It's an eye-opening and often interesting experience.

Introduction

(image credit: flikr user darrenjyslvester)

I was recently chosen to sit on a criminal jury. It’s going to be a tough case to hear. I have sat on two trials in the past and I thought maybe I would write about it this time. I want to stress in the beginning that I do not think I’m a great writer or anything, so the grammar police can just stuff it.

I started writing this the day I was picked to be on the jury. I am writing these entries as the case goes along, but after the initial few posts that do not concern the trial or voir dire (jury selection) I will not publish any of it until the trial is over and I am allowed to do so. That said, if you are interested in the journey, I invite you to come along.

My opinions are my own and this blog has no bearing upon my decision in the jury room. I have decided to remain anonymous and to change identifying details, but otherwise this is my true account to the best of my recollection.

Comments and questions are welcome, but I cannot talk about the case itself until the trial is over.