dimondites

This is the final post to my Jury Duty sequel. Posts Jury Duty 1 and Jury Duty 2 were all about how to get out of jury duty. I can give you a good reason, but it won’t matter. Most of us believe all reasons are good reasons - anything to avoid being stuck with an asbestos case.

Something very surprising happened on this day.

I changed my mind. It was the first time I actually wanted jury duty. But not any jury, THIS jury.

It wasn’t until I was walking out of the courthouse when I realized it took only mere minutes for me to judge and condemn the defendant, before a trial was even scheduled. I had very ugly thoughts. I hated him. I was disgusted and angry. I was equally angry with our judicial system. How was it possible that this man was finally being tried for crimes committed over a three-year period? Would Jane Does 2, 3 and 4 have different lives now if he had been convicted after the first crime?

At that very moment, I also realized I was not qualified to be a juror, and I would have been rejected within seconds. My eyes would have given me away. Here was when I developed a new opinion of our judicial system - it’s not perfect, but it’s not all bad either. Preventing me from being on the juror would have been the right thing to do. (I was dismissed for self-employment reasons.)

What happened? Why the change of heart? Why the certain rage?

Because this man in front of me was on trial for the following accusations beginning in 2003:

Jane Doe 1

Robbery with weapon
Armed with dangerous of deadly weapon
Victim bounded and tied
Sexual penetration with foreign object
Sexual penetration by force
Forcible oral copulation

Jane Doe 2

Forced oral copulation
Kidnapping and movement of victim
Robbery armed with dangerous or deadly weapon
Forcible rape

Jane Doe 3

Forcible rape
Kidnapping of person
Second degree robbery
Forcible oral copulation

Jane Doe 4

Forcible oral copulation
Kidnapping of person
Forcible Rape
Second degree Robbery

I couldn’t write fast enough, so there are missing charges to the above list. I was literally shocked when I heard the charges, and my mouth kept dropping at every other sentence. I must have looked like a fish gulping for air. How was it possible that there were four victims over three years, and this was the first trial for all the crimes? I don’t have the answer, but I have some faith that the reason was great. Maybe the case was not strong enough? Maybe Jan Does 2, 3 and 4 came forward late? Not enough evidence for Jane Does 1 or 2?  

Regardless, I learned something valuable that day. I was(am) appreciative that our system blocks jurors like myself from cases like this one. I did not believe he was innocent until proven guilty. I guess there is a lady of justice after all.

_{Photo by MacBuckley}

Reader Comments (1)

06.10.2007 | Frank

My dad never got on juries—he had been both a cop and a social worker in the same town; so prosecutors and defense attorneys alike thought he was biased.

My wife, a foreign national, got called and the Alameda Co. jury duty form actually makes you prove you’re a foreigner (with a copy of your passport or greencard) in order to get out of it.

I think my recent blog about how much I hate police-hating lawyers will disqualify me from any juries in the future.