Jury Duty

[Jim at Gentex]

I had to report for jury duty last Wednesday and ended up being picked for a case that lasted three days.

I only had one other previous experience being on a jury, but that case was settled after one day of testimony without the jury having to render a verdict.
This one was the first time I ever went through the whole process from selection, going through the whole trial, and then deliberating as a group.  

This case involved a home invasion, with a sexual assault and burglary.  One thing I learned for sure is that watching this stuff on tv is nothing like the real thing.  Listening to this victim give her testimony was graphic and heart wrenching, and it's something I will never forget.  

There was also quite a bit of expert technical testimony on fingerprints, serology (blood and semen), and DNA.
At the end of the process, the jury unanimously concluded that the state had presented a compelling case against the defendant, and that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Anyone else have a similar jury duty experience?

[neurosis]

[quote="Jim at Gentex" post_id=11542 time=1621862352 user_id=83]

Anyone else have a similar jury duty experience?
[/quote]

Nothing quite like that.

I sat on a jury a few years back over a domestic violence case. It lasted two days and we knew after hearing the opening statements that the guy charged was innocent.  He had an argument with his ex girlfriend who wasn't ready to be the ex. She brought her brother over to beat the guy up.  

The guy tried to sneak away from the apartment complex in a friends car. When his ex and her brother saw the car go by there was a chase that finally ended at a local 7-11.  The guy got out of the car to defend himself against his exes brother and his ex decided to join in the fight.  While he was trying to square off with the brother, she kept coming at him from behind. He was trying to push her away and one of the times he pushed her, he ended up poking her in the eye with an open hand.  

When the cops got there they immediately arrested the guy for domestic violence.  It should have been her and her brother being arrested.  

I was glad that the case was cut and dry.  I didn't like being on a jury.

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

Twice got the call (letter of jury notice). About 6 or 7 years apart, I think. Sat in the waiting room (or whatever, a large area). Waited for my name to be called. Never was. I was glad. 2nd time I only was there one day and got released early (very slow week). 1st time I had to wait till Thursday.

[Tim Johnson]

I've only received a letter for Federal court and it was for the first week of January. I figured that wasn't going to happen and it didn't.

[Jim at Gentex]

Yeah, COVID really put a damper on jury trials everywhere.

This trial I was just involved with still had COVID protocols in place, i.e., masks and social distancing.
They removed the public seating area in the courtroom we were in so that the jury could social distance in that bigger space.
(This particular courtroom is one of the smaller ones in our county courthouse.)

In order to accommodate the public, which is a Constitutional right, a Zoom interface was set up in a room across the hall for interested parties like the families of the victim and defendant, and any reporters covering the case.

It was an interesting experience to say the least.

[HTM01]

i've had Jury duty at least 6 times, was on a civil trial once lasted a little over a week, it was very interesting

[pmartin]

I was selected for jury duty back in 2006. It was a murder trial, it was very interesting but there wasn't much in the way of expert testimony, just the investigating officer and the ME. The defense tried to put forth the theory that some shady characters who were acquaintances of Herman Yoh murdered his wife for revenge. It was a thin defense and we the jury found him guilty.

[Jon@NOWHERE]

I have not been summoned for jury duty at all...

[Shazam/TPP]

[quote="Jim at Gentex" post_id=11542 time=1621862352 user_id=83]

This case involved a home invasion, with a sexual assault and burglary.

[/quote]

so..... you were called on the jury looking into the stolen election.....    couldn't resist  

[RobertELee]

I've received 3 jury summons, each time had to call in on certain days, but have never actually had to report.

[Jim at Gentex]

I've received 3 jury summons, each time had to call in on certain days, but have never actually had to report.

Yeah that's kind of what I was hoping for.
I worked 13 hours at the polls on Tuesday, and had to call after 4 PM to see if I had to report for jury duty on Wednesday.
That was a looooong 4 days.  

I'm still glad I did it though, because it was interesting to see the process work from the inside.
Having said that, I hope I don't get picked again.  

[ghuns]

Got picked once in the late 90s. Guy was accused of knocking on an old lady's door, old lady knew him, bashing her over the head, stealing her purse and car. He was found the next day passed out in an alley, in her car, with a hooker, a bunch of empty liquor bottle, and a bunch of crack.

Took maybe 2 hours for both side to present their cases. We were sent to the jury room and voted guilty in 30 seconds. We were all like, WTF are we doing here? Why wouldn't this have been plea bargained? If this guy had OJ's legal team, he'd have still had ZERO chances of winning.

The only debate we had was whether to call the bailiff immediately or wait 30 minutes to make it look like we really thought it over. We decided to call him immediately.

Went back in and the judge read the verdict. He then asked the bailiff to take us back to the jury room. We didn't know why, but we sat there for a couple hours before being called back in. Turned out this was a 3 strikes case. Dude had two previous felonies and this made three. It was suddenly clear why he couldn't plea bargain it and HAD to go to trial and pray for the hail Mary.

The next portion of the trial was weird. The state had to present evidence that this man had in fact been convicted of 3 felonies. The only thing the defense could really do was use what I termed the Shaggy Defense. Basically, it wasn't me.

That phase didn't take long either and we were sent back to the jury room. Again, 30 seconds in, we had a verdict. Some jurors did feel bad for the dude. His first felony was basically shoplifting but the $$$ amount was high enough to make it a felony. But numbers two and three made up for it. He was sent away for a LONG time.

[Jim at Gentex]

^^^Interesting.^^^

Our part of the case was over once we reached the verdict.
The judge told us that she was responsible for the sentencing part, and the jury was excused as soon as the verdict was read.

Before that, on the morning of closing arguments, the county ordered lunch for the jury.
The judge's instructions were to return to the jury room after closing arguments, eat our lunch, and begin deliberations.
It took us longer to eat lunch than to reach a verdict.

Our guy had 6 criminal charges against him, so just to be fair and thorough we voted on each one separately.
There was no disagreement whatsoever.
One person raised a question about the 6th charge (Unlawful Restraint), and what the legal standard was on that.
We submitted the question in writing, and the judge returned a photocopy of the same definition of that charge that she read in open court.
Everyone on the jury was satisfied that the state met its burden of proof on that charge as well, so that was it.

I don't know if our guy got sentenced the same day, or what the sentence was, but I'm quite sure he will be doing a lengthy stretch in prison as well.

[HTM01]

lunch was the best part , we got 2 hours i would walk down to the New London pier and look at Long Island Sound

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

lunch was the best part , we got 2 hours i would walk down to the New London pier and look at Long Island Sound

Yes. Loooong lunch hours.