So where have I been the last couple of weeks? I got selected for jury duty. It's been a full-time job. The following is a bit long, but I wanted to share a little about my experience.
A few weeks back I
received a letter instructing me to report for jury selection. If chosen I
would be required to sit on a jury for a trial that was projected to last the
better part of two weeks. I cleared my calendar just in case and reported as
instructed.
When I arrived at the courthouse, I was surprised to find
that I was part of a pool of at least sixty potential jurors. We were each
assigned a number and a corresponding chair to sit in and asked to fill out a preliminary survey. We watched a short video instructing
us on the whole jury selection process. Then the judge began to question us as
a group. If we had an issue with a question, we raised our hands and our numbers
were recorded. When the judge had finished his questions, the attorneys for the
plaintiff and the defendant each had a turn to pose questions. Again, if we had
a problem, we raised our hands.
What kinds of questions did they ask? Did anyone have an
undue hardship that they felt should excuse them from jury duty? Was anyone
acquainted with any of the parties involved, or with anyone on the long list of
potential witnesses? They wanted to know if we or anyone close to us had had
any personal experiences of a similar nature to the case that was to be tried. They
were trying to discover any potential biases we might have in favor of either
the plaintiff or the defendant.
In the days leading up to this, plenty of people had offered
me advice on how to get out of jury duty. I could try to come across as crazy
or bigoted and they surely wouldn't choose me. Something that everybody jokes
about in relation to jury duty, right? I had to admit that it would be nice to
be dismissed from serving, go home and enjoy the next couple of weeks living my
usual life. I was dying to get up in the mountains, view the fall foliage, and
do some hiking. But somehow I didn't feel good about passing myself off as a
crazy bigot!
After all questions had been posed, potential jurors who had
raised a hand were called out one at a time for further questioning in the
presence of the judge and both attorneys and their respective clients. Over the
course of the process, some potential jurors were dismissed. After a lunch
break and more individual interviews, we were ready for the final jury
selection. Each side had the chance to strike three potential jurors as they
worked together to agree on nine, one of whom would unknowingly serve as an
alternate.
When the judge read the list of those selected, I was
surprised to hear my name. Really, what were the chances? Slim, actually.
The nine of us, three women and six men, were immediately
escorted to the jury room. We were given a few more instructions as well
as a supply of snacks and drinks. This room would be ours alone
for the next two weeks. Each morning we were to report between 8:15 and 8:45,
depending on the day and the judge's docket. The trial would last each day
until 5:00 or so. On the last day, it would last until we reached our verdict.
Then we were escorted back into the courtroom to begin the
trial.
"All rise. Fourth District Court is now in
session."
We filed in according to our numbers. I was juror number
five.
It was a personal injury lawsuit. The plaintiff was suing
the defendant for several million dollars, claiming to have sustained a mild
traumatic brain injury after her automobile was struck by the defendant's. The
defendant readily admitted that the accident was her fault, but denied that it
possibly could have caused any harm to the plaintiff.
Big breath out.
This was going to be interesting, I thought.
It was.
We listened to witness after witness, testifying in behalf
of the plaintiff. We heard cross-examination by the defendant's counsel. We
heard rebuttals. We were shown evidence. I was fascinated by a plastic model of
a head with a removable brain that came apart in sections and fit together
again like a puzzle. (I'm thinking of ordering one off the Internet.)
We received an extensive education on mild traumatic brain
injury. We became familiar with a variety of complex medical terms and conditions.
We had lessons on bio-mechanical engineering, complete with a computerized
simulation of the car accident that had occurred between the parties.
We broke for lunch each day and were able to leave the
courthouse. We'd meet again an hour later and
the bailiff would escort us back to the jury room.
On the second or third day, we were met instead by another
court employee. As she escorted us onto the elevator, she said something like,
"Thanks for doing this. I know you all have better
things to do."
It was kind of funny. As in strange or odd. We all just
stood there. For a moment no one said a word.
Then one of us said,
"Actually, this is a really good thing we're
doing."
Did we have better things to be doing?
By now all nine of us
felt the importance of our job and it was sobering. I doubt that any of us will
lightly joke about how to get out of jury duty again.
We spent a lot of time together in the jury room as the
lawyers and the judge worked things out that we weren't allowed to hear. I can't tell you how many times we filed in
and out of that courtroom. ("All rise!") We weren't allowed to
discuss the case with each other until after all the evidence had been given,
so we had to talk about other things. As a result, we got to know each other
pretty well.
After several days of testimony by the plaintiff's
witnesses, it was time for the defense to present its case. More witnesses,
more cross-examination, more rebuttals. It was all fascinating. I was never
bored. We were constantly reminded by the judge to keep an open mind, not form
any opinions until all the evidence had been presented, not to discuss the
trial with anyone or let anyone talk about it with us.
Every night I'd go home and say to a family member,
"Ask me how my day in court was."
"How was your day in court?"
"I can't talk about it."
(I think I'm so funny. I did get them to fall for it over and over though.)
Finally, on the last day, it was time to hear the closing
arguments. The counsel for the plaintiff got to go first, then the counsel for
the defense, and then the plaintiff's counsel got to have the last word. We
were given instructions from the judge. We had to follow certain guidelines as
we decided the case. The alternate was identified, thanked for his service, and
excused. The rest of us felt bad for him. We had all invested so much in this
trial. It would have been difficult to have been asked to leave at that point.
We all felt we had earned our right to speak to the case.
Then we were
dismissed to deliberate as a jury. We were escorted back to the jury room and
allowed to make phone calls. Then our phones were taken, laptops were taken,
and we were locked up together and would remain there until six out of the
eight of us were in agreement.
We were finally allowed to talk about the case.
None of us had any idea as to how the others were thinking.
We selected a foreman and began tentatively. It was soon evident that we were
all pretty much on the same page, but had questions and concerns we wanted to
discuss and be sure of. We proceeded cautiously. We covered everything and
discussed every aspect of the case. We dissected our instructions and made sure
we followed them minutely. We raised all possible questions and concerns that
anyone had and discussed them thoroughly.
After almost five hours of
deliberating, we finally buzzed our bailiff.
We were ready to re-enter the courtroom
and deliver our verdict.
It was a tense moment. And a humbling one. We were affecting people's lives.
Somebody had to win and somebody had to lose. We filed back in for the final
time. The judge asked the foreman for the paper that contained our verdict. He
asked the court clerk to read it aloud.
We had found the defendant not guilty. No money would be
awarded to the plaintiff.
Before we knew it, the judge had thanked us for our service,
informed us that we were now free to discuss the case with anyone, and we were
whisked out of the courtroom.
Back in the jury room, we gathered up our belongings,
thanked our bailiff for taking good care of us, received our phones and laptops back, shook
hands and said our good-byes.
As I drove home from the courthouse last night, I thought
about the past two weeks. I thought about the trial process. I thought about
all I had experienced and learned. I felt confident in our decision. It had
been an amazing experience, start to finish.
What?
You got a letter instructing you to report for jury
selection?
Don't be tempted to act like a crazy bigot.
It's an
experience that you'll greatly benefit from.
I hope you're lucky enough to get
selected.
