Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Murder was the case that they gave me
I had jury duty yesterday. It was the first time for me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It turned out to be one of the most boring/interesting days I’ve had in a long time.
The boring part was first. I arrived at 8:30 to the giant courts complex just south of downtown. I was ushered into a room with hundreds of other jurors. I sat down and took out the Quick newspaper I’d picked up. It was pretty awful as usual, so I got out Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (side note: after finishing the final book, I have gone back and am now reading each of them in succession). The girl next to me was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time, so we talked for a little bit about good ol’ HP. Then the lights dimmed and we started to watch the terrible orientation film. I really regretted not having had some coffee.
After the film, a guy came to the podium to talk to us. I think he was a bailiff or something. He rehashed the same information from the orientation film, tried to tell some bad jokes, and told us to sit tight for a few minutes while they finished processing everything.
I read more Harry Potter.
After twenty minutes or so, a woman came to the podium to rehash the information from the orientation film. She then talked about the importance of writing down your court assignment. Apparently lots of jurors get lost in the building. I got out pen and paper. She then read out the first lot of juror numbers, and I was in the first group of sixty. They would choose twelve of us for the case. She said the name of the courtroom and judge, and she told us what floor to go to. As I went to get my juror badge, she also wrote the information on the board. However, some jurors just didn’t pay attention and tried to get off on the wrong floor. Seriously.
Anyway, we got to the courtroom and sat on the benches outside. I read more Harry Potter.
Eventually, they called our names and gave us a clipboard with a paper to fill out. The paper included questions about our perceptions of law enforcement, lawyers, and whether we had family or friends who had been convicted of crimes. I filled mine out. I waited.
I finished Harry Potter. I did the crossword in the Quick paper. Eventually I fished out the cheesy crime novel my mom had given me when I was home this weekend (I did not want to lug two huge HP books with me). I started reading it. They collected our clipboards and told us to wait some more. I read more of the book.
By now it was after 11am. We finally filed into the courtroom. Then, things got interesting. There were lawyers already in there, and a guy who I figured was the defendant. The judge entered (“All rise!”) and seated us. He gave a few opening remarks and advised that this was a murder case that would take about a week.
The Assistant DA spoke for a long time about the legalities surrounding the crime. They couldn’t give us any information specific to the trial, other than the defendant’s name (which I have already forgotten) and that this was a first-degree murder case with a sentencing range of five years to life. Both of the lawyers and the judge used a lot of examples from "CSI" and "Law and Order" and wanted to make sure that people understood that real court cases weren’t like “Hollywood TV shows.” He asked us a lot of questions about our feelings toward sitting on a jury, reasonable doubt, the Fifth Amendment, and that sort of thing. A lot of people either seriously objected to what he said or else were trying to get out of sitting on the jury. I was intrigued, so I didn’t do anything to be excused from the case. Some of the things other jurors said were pretty stupid/uninformed. Occasionally the defense lawyer would object to things he said.
I kept watching the accused’s face during the proceedings. It was weird, thinking that I was sitting only a few feet away from someone accused of murder. He didn’t really look like a murderer – he had an intelligent look and an almost kind face. He laughed at the funny things that the judge and lawyers said (they liked to keep things light). Surely, he wouldn’t be laughing if he was guilty? Or would he?
Anyway, we eventually took an hour lunch, which I spent in the cafeteria eating moderately decent food and talking to another potential juror.
When we came back, the prosecution had a few more questions for us, and then it was the defense lawyer’s turn. He had a pretty dry sense of humor, and he was pretty frank when people gave answers that were kind of stupid. He also singled out several people and told them point blank that he wouldn’t pick them for the jury. He asked me a question about reasonable doubt, and I luckily gave the correct answer. It was kind of strange – the Assistant DA had kind of turned our minds to thinking about prosecuting the guy, and now the defense lawyer was forcing to think about him being innocent until proven guilty. I became more intrigued and really wanted to hear the facts of the case. I wanted to serve on this jury. I was excited about using my reasoning to decide whether he was proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The defense finished up, and the judge told us a little about serving on the jury. They sent us out of the room for about 25 minutes to decide who to pick. I got some M&Ms and read more of my book. Eventually they called us back in. It was now after 4pm.
The judge said he would call 13 names, and one of those people would serve as an alternate juror. I got ready to hear my name. He called the first name. Not me. He called the second name. Not me. He kept calling names, and it kept being not me. Finally, he said, “Last but not least…” and it was not me. He dismissed the rest of us.
As I filed out of the courtroom, I was disappointed. I was almost sure I would be picked, but they didn’t pick me for some reason or another. I paid my parking fee and left the complex. When I got home, I tried to remember the defendant’s name so I could Google information about the crime, but all I could remember was his first name. Maybe I’ll pick up the paper on Friday or Monday to see if the trial has ended. Since it wasn’t a capital murder case, I don’t know if the paper will even publish anything about the trial. I may never know what happened. But I’m rooting for those jurors and the hard decision that they will have to make.
I had jury duty yesterday. It was the first time for me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It turned out to be one of the most boring/interesting days I’ve had in a long time.
The boring part was first. I arrived at 8:30 to the giant courts complex just south of downtown. I was ushered into a room with hundreds of other jurors. I sat down and took out the Quick newspaper I’d picked up. It was pretty awful as usual, so I got out Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (side note: after finishing the final book, I have gone back and am now reading each of them in succession). The girl next to me was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time, so we talked for a little bit about good ol’ HP. Then the lights dimmed and we started to watch the terrible orientation film. I really regretted not having had some coffee.
After the film, a guy came to the podium to talk to us. I think he was a bailiff or something. He rehashed the same information from the orientation film, tried to tell some bad jokes, and told us to sit tight for a few minutes while they finished processing everything.
I read more Harry Potter.
After twenty minutes or so, a woman came to the podium to rehash the information from the orientation film. She then talked about the importance of writing down your court assignment. Apparently lots of jurors get lost in the building. I got out pen and paper. She then read out the first lot of juror numbers, and I was in the first group of sixty. They would choose twelve of us for the case. She said the name of the courtroom and judge, and she told us what floor to go to. As I went to get my juror badge, she also wrote the information on the board. However, some jurors just didn’t pay attention and tried to get off on the wrong floor. Seriously.
Anyway, we got to the courtroom and sat on the benches outside. I read more Harry Potter.
Eventually, they called our names and gave us a clipboard with a paper to fill out. The paper included questions about our perceptions of law enforcement, lawyers, and whether we had family or friends who had been convicted of crimes. I filled mine out. I waited.
I finished Harry Potter. I did the crossword in the Quick paper. Eventually I fished out the cheesy crime novel my mom had given me when I was home this weekend (I did not want to lug two huge HP books with me). I started reading it. They collected our clipboards and told us to wait some more. I read more of the book.
By now it was after 11am. We finally filed into the courtroom. Then, things got interesting. There were lawyers already in there, and a guy who I figured was the defendant. The judge entered (“All rise!”) and seated us. He gave a few opening remarks and advised that this was a murder case that would take about a week.
The Assistant DA spoke for a long time about the legalities surrounding the crime. They couldn’t give us any information specific to the trial, other than the defendant’s name (which I have already forgotten) and that this was a first-degree murder case with a sentencing range of five years to life. Both of the lawyers and the judge used a lot of examples from "CSI" and "Law and Order" and wanted to make sure that people understood that real court cases weren’t like “Hollywood TV shows.” He asked us a lot of questions about our feelings toward sitting on a jury, reasonable doubt, the Fifth Amendment, and that sort of thing. A lot of people either seriously objected to what he said or else were trying to get out of sitting on the jury. I was intrigued, so I didn’t do anything to be excused from the case. Some of the things other jurors said were pretty stupid/uninformed. Occasionally the defense lawyer would object to things he said.
I kept watching the accused’s face during the proceedings. It was weird, thinking that I was sitting only a few feet away from someone accused of murder. He didn’t really look like a murderer – he had an intelligent look and an almost kind face. He laughed at the funny things that the judge and lawyers said (they liked to keep things light). Surely, he wouldn’t be laughing if he was guilty? Or would he?
Anyway, we eventually took an hour lunch, which I spent in the cafeteria eating moderately decent food and talking to another potential juror.
When we came back, the prosecution had a few more questions for us, and then it was the defense lawyer’s turn. He had a pretty dry sense of humor, and he was pretty frank when people gave answers that were kind of stupid. He also singled out several people and told them point blank that he wouldn’t pick them for the jury. He asked me a question about reasonable doubt, and I luckily gave the correct answer. It was kind of strange – the Assistant DA had kind of turned our minds to thinking about prosecuting the guy, and now the defense lawyer was forcing to think about him being innocent until proven guilty. I became more intrigued and really wanted to hear the facts of the case. I wanted to serve on this jury. I was excited about using my reasoning to decide whether he was proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The defense finished up, and the judge told us a little about serving on the jury. They sent us out of the room for about 25 minutes to decide who to pick. I got some M&Ms and read more of my book. Eventually they called us back in. It was now after 4pm.
The judge said he would call 13 names, and one of those people would serve as an alternate juror. I got ready to hear my name. He called the first name. Not me. He called the second name. Not me. He kept calling names, and it kept being not me. Finally, he said, “Last but not least…” and it was not me. He dismissed the rest of us.
As I filed out of the courtroom, I was disappointed. I was almost sure I would be picked, but they didn’t pick me for some reason or another. I paid my parking fee and left the complex. When I got home, I tried to remember the defendant’s name so I could Google information about the crime, but all I could remember was his first name. Maybe I’ll pick up the paper on Friday or Monday to see if the trial has ended. Since it wasn’t a capital murder case, I don’t know if the paper will even publish anything about the trial. I may never know what happened. But I’m rooting for those jurors and the hard decision that they will have to make.
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