On Friday October 15th at 2:30 PM my 5 week ordeal with jury duty ended. We announced our verdict to the court. I will be brief and somewhat vague when I describe the case. You never know some “yo-yo” with nothing to do may do a Google search and find this. Even though this case is now public record I would like to protect the privacy of the parties involved. I am sure it was more difficult for them than it was for the jurors.
There was an assault of one man by two others. One man sustained permanent injuries and was suing. The three participants and three witnesses testified before the court. In addition a medical witness who treated the plaintiff reported on the extent of the injuries. It was a shame that a fight had to happen among three adults over a minor issue.
The jury ruled in favor of the defendants believing that they acted in self-defense. The plaintiff could not collect damages.
Here are my comments that will not appear in Bruce’s Journal after today.
I desperately want closure to this ordeal.
For 5 full weeks I did not know whether I report to work or to the court each day. In my previous 5 terms of jury duty I served no more that 7 consecutive work days and was completed. Over 5 weeks I served for 13 days while I reported to work the others. I cleared my calendar for the weeks of September 13 and 20 figuring it would be over by then. I had to cancel several business appointments over the past 3 weeks.
The major problem was caused by the backlog of civil cases in September. In civil court a jury is selected by the attorneys who must wait for an available judge to start the trial. They 6 jurors and 2 alternatives were chosen on September 20 while the trial commenced on September 30. The first 4 jurors were selected on September 18 and suffered for 2 more days than I. What was most upsetting was that there were 3 days when we had to sit in the central jury room and wait when there was absolutely no chance that the case would begin. The judge, court officers, and attorneys apologized for this and were appreciative of or service, but I would like to make a suggestion to rectify this problem.
At the beginning of jury duty we had to phone in to determine if we were needed the next day. Would it be possible to phone in to determine when a civil case would commence? If there is anyone with political clout reading this, can they make this suggestion to the powers that be in state government? Think of all the money that is paid to idle jurors by their respective employers. I am sure there are some hourly or free-lance people who do not get paid during jury duty.
There needs to be modernization of some court procedures:
1. In this high tech era why is a court reporter needed? Why can’t the proceedings of a trial be recorded to a hard drive? Any questions or comments that must be stricken from the record can be easily deleted. The court reporter reminds me of the conductors on commuter railroads. They are all dinosaurs.
2. During the deliberation process, we were required to submit a written note to the judge if we had a question or needed to see evidence. Why can’t the jury foreman talk to judge in front of all parties?
3. I would also ask the attorneys to minimize asking witnesses questions that have nothing to do with determining liability. This would greatly speed up the trial.
Now I do not have to report for jury duty for at least 6 years. I do feel that all people should serve at least twice in their lifetime; once in a civil case and once in a criminal case. We do learn quite a bit about the criminal justice system by serving on a jury. I hope that people can do this with minimal inconvenience.
I will conclude by quoting a line from Bob Dylan’s song “George Jackson.” I don’t agree with Bob here, but I admire his conviction. I am taking this line completely out of context:
“Sometime I think this whole world is one big prison yard. Some of us are prisoners, the rest of us are guards.”
For the last 5 weeks I felt like a prisoner not being able to come and go as a please. Everyone else in the judicial process were the guards.
I thank my friends, family, and coworkers for being understanding during this difficult period.
