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.
Posts
2 comments:
My only jury experiences have been in Houston, and while I found it very interesting, I was completely frustrated that they forbid us from taking notes and wouldn't let us ask any questions. I thought of *dozens* of questions I wanted to ask witnesses and the attorneys. Just one example: One criminal case was a robbery. The defendant claimed he was in that neighborhood to buy something from an ad in the local pennysaver newspaper, but neither attorney ever actually checked to see if any such ad was in the paper on the day in question. I couldn't believe they didn't pursue that.
I did jury service once about 2 years ago. I don't know what I would have done if they had not let me take notes because the trial lasted for about two weeks. Once we got to deliberation I relied on them. Like..... we we would say "Well, the witness said such and such.. and went to such and such a place and was seen there at 10:40pm." We could verify it with notes. If there was some question about what was said we could have them read back the testimony. There is no way I could have remembered what the witnesses said without notes......lol Is that something that that is only in Texas or Houston? How can they expect you to remember what was said? That just doesn't make sense...... We were also able to ask questions in writing. The judge decided which questions were actually asked.
Post a Comment