My Short Lived Tour Of Duty As An Almost Juror
My Short Lived Tour Of Civil Duty As An Almost Juror
This is an account of my short service as a juror -and I do mean short.
When I found the Call to Jury Duty card in my mail box, I had mixed reaction; most will find the prospect less than exciting, and so it was for me. “Great,” I thought, “Juuury duty…arrggghh…”
On the day of, I was actually excited and I arrived early, which turned out great since I know the county clerk and this gave us time to catch up. That’s small towns for you.
My new identity for the day: #14 -to my surprise, the attorney kept referring to us or addressing us by name during the whole procedure. I also noticed that both the attorney and the defendant had in front of them a stack of the questionnaires we had filled out as part of our requirement for eligibility… so much for anonymity.
There were 30 people called according to the sign in sheet. I counted 16 present. The clerk called us in (by name, not numbers) to sit in order of assigned number.
All Rise!
The judge spoke briefly about why we were here, swore us in, and read through a series of reasons why we might be dismissed or claim exemptions from this court. One question she came to and stated that this was her personal favorite was “Is anyone here currently insane?” to which about 4 or 5 hands went up to a general giggle. No one got dismissed on that account, though the thought did go through my mind “Well, now that you mention it…” My hand stayed put.
The judge went through the rest of the exemptions and passed the floor on to the attorney present.
The attorney, Mr. R., introduced himself, explained the purpose of this court and case, his role, and how we would go about conducting business. He made sure no one present knew either himself personally, the defendant, or the main witness, the officer who issued the traffic ticket, before continuing.
This being a municipal court, he also explained that all case coming through this court only resulted in fines to be paid. Never were there were any question of jail time.
Jury Selection
Mr. R asked questions to the group as a whole, to which we could respond by raising our hand. One question was who amongst us had ever been issued a traffic violation ticket? I think most hands went up, mine included. He further asked if anyone felt they had ever received a wrongful ticket, and three hands went up -mine stayed. I might have been upset or mad at a couple tickets, but I am fairly sure each one was according to the law, which mostly mean above posted speed limit. Each person had to state the circumstances of their ticket, and if that experience would impede their ability to serve on this jury. No one felt it would.
Another few questions as we move along, then this one (paraphrased): “Is there anyone here who has a problem with being in the position of passing judgment on another person?”
Mine was the single hand going up. Mr. R. asked for further comment. I said I am “uncomfortable” with the idea of passing judgment on another. He made a quick note on his note pad. I was actually very surprised by this. Among 16 of my peers, I was the only one “uncomfortable” with passing judgment on a fellow human being. Hmm.
More questions, until this last one before selection. The attorney prefaced it with the explanation that by law, the case for Texas must be represented by a license attorney, and that the defendant has a right to ask for jury, which is why we were called. He asked if any of us had any problem with this set up, to which, yes, I again raised the lone hand. Mr. R asked for comment. Right about now I can see the wheel going inside his head “there always has to be one…”
I said I myself had been in this position where I had to defend myself against a professional attorney and that I felt this was not a fair exchange. I was not a professional and did not have the experience in verbalizing a defense. The attorney against me had all the advantage of expertise and proceeded to totally diminish my person (humiliated in fact) and my concerns, and I lost the case in what I thought was a completely unbalanced procedure (I was presenting in front of a panel of city officials, not a juried trial).
I only said all this because he asked, and I was being truthful.
Mr. R said that the defendant did have the right to seek an attorney to represent him.
Hmm, yes off course, to the no-small tune of $100+ an hour…
He asked if I would have trouble serving on this jury, to which I said no. Scribble, scribble, another quick note on the yellow pad.
I’m pretty sure by now Mr. R. does not want me on his jury, being a trouble maker an all. The defendant, on the other hand, might. Can’t please everyone.
The defendant and attorney were called to the bench. This is a small court and I could hear everything discussed from my seat. The defendant was basically told he could choose 3 jurors to dismiss. Back to his seat, he went through his papers and list and opted not to dismiss anyone. The attorney did the same.
The first 6 jurors in line were called and the rest of us were thanked for our time and dismissed. Apparently, depending on your number, the odds are either really good that you’ll be picked or that you won’t. Being #14, seat #10 (since a few did not show), and with a need for 6 jurors, I had a slightly below 50/50 chance of being picked, depending on whether people were dismissed or not.
I was at the City Hall from 7:50 am to 9:05 am; 1 hr 10 minutes all included. Not bad. I managed to do my civil duty and get a day off all at once.
This Judicial System Of Ours
I am glad this system exists. If I ever were in the position of defendant, I also would like to have the right of jury. The thought of having “regular” folks hearing my case rather than being at the complete mercy of professional who get paid by one side or the other, and are therefore not impartial, is comforting.
I am also grateful that citizens do take the time to serve. Had I been chosen, I would have listened to the case and done my best to follow my conscience according to the law and evidence presented. Despite my initial slightly annoyed reaction at being called, I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the selection first hand. It is not full proof, as evident by the constant miss-trials, reversed judgments, and wrongful incarcerations we hear about on a regular basis -still, it is better than a lot of other so called justice systems in this world.
And yet, imagine a judicial system where every one involved has one goal in mind: to get to the truth and bring it out. Rather than being a contest between who has the best lawyer, who puts together the best defense / offense, or who can pull the best trick out of their sleeve, imagine a system where both sides work together to establish the truth, then use the trial to come up with the most equitable and just consequence fitting the crime.
Maybe someday, as the human race continues to evolve… one can only hope.
—
