DisneyMandC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2015
This time TV is betterThe one and only time I have been called for jury duty I sat for a criminal trial. Nothing interesting or exciting, a suspected drug dealer was caught with crap tons of pills - took just over a day, started late the day before, and they asked us to stay late to finish deliberating on the 2nd day. I really expected more polish on everything but while no one was a bumbling idiot, it's definitely not as smooth when you don't have a script, even if you've done it before. We did have a "jury will ignore such and such" moment which you know all the TV shows try to sneak something in because you can't unhear it
I can't remember how that even happened but I just remember thinking - 'wow I'm sure Perry Mason or even Matlock wouldn't have asked that'.
So it was interesting and boring at the same time. I can honestly say I've never seen so many pills in the same place at the same time, so that was kinda interesting. Otherwise a little boring listening to the details - essentially they tapped someone's phone, defendant was on phone agreeing to a buy, defendant was apprehended at or on the way to the buy with the phone from the call and crap ton of pills in car as discussed on the call. Fairly case closed except I think maybe the phone wasn't on him but in the vehicle and they used nicknames on the call, so it left some room for doubt he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; but given other evidence it wasn't very "reasonable" doubt. BUT this brings me to the other side of interesting and boring - frustration.
We had some good debate but just 1 juror was stuck on one part of testimony and couldn't move past wanting an answer to a question about it that no one asked. Since the lawyers didn't ask we'll never know. Basically after a while of discussion we had 11 jurors on the same page and 1 stuck on an issue. I don't believe it had to be unanimous either so it would have been fine 11:1, but that juror wouldn't cast a vote either way for a while.Even did one of those where we called the clerk and went back in to ask a question of the judge... for which he couldn't really answer, as suspected. Really started to think they were going to have to do a dinner break if they really wanted us to wrap it up that day but finally everyone cast a vote.
I'd suggest watching a trial, even if you have to pay for parking, so as to not be a captive audience
I'd say that's about 60-70% of our juries right there. The rest are a mismatch of larcenies, robberies, and more terrible crimes. Like I said, DH loves the crime shows, but hates to hear about my job because it's definitely not as exciting as you think when you're sitting through hour two of a cell phone expert's testimony.
I would be a great juror then since I never watch (or read) the news. Everyone who knows me and starts a conversation with "Hey, did you see on the news...wait, no, never mind, here's what's going on."
It's a conscious thing since my bp and anxiety escalate if I'm exposed to everything horrible coming, but from Jun-Nov I find I receive a lot of weather related texts from frantic relatives.
Haha yup! I always think I would never get picked for a jury if I wasn't in my current career, because I'm always familiar with the news in my area. We have a major case set next week that was all over the news in my area when it occurred because the defendant was on the run. I don't know how they'll find people who haven't heard about it, but invariably we always find twelve people.
