Jury duty.

[mcroft]

So Jury duty in district court today, oddly immlass also had jury duty for the same case. She was #21 and disqualified, I was number 82. It was a rough voir dire: #80 was empaneled. I might've been, but I'm pretty glad I wasn't.

Four counts, starting with attempted capital murder, followed by sexual assault of a disabled person, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated assault.

I don't know the circumstances of the case, but i knew we were really in for it when the defense attorney basically warned us not to be prejudiced against his client if he was tough on the victim on the stand.

Even with the ones he accepted, he needs to be careful about that.

In more exciting news, our charming defendant made the news a few months ago when he allegedly tried to hire another inmate kill his accuser for money, because, yeah, the cops won't think that's at all suspicious. Some details in the link for the morbidly curious. If proven, I would not have felt an impulse to be particularly lenient.

Comments

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

Egads. Last panel I sat on was for a capital murder case and was full of DNW (they never did ask my view of capital punishment which probably would have had me eliminated) but I wasn't selected for unknown reasons. Yay for me!

Also sat in a pool where I was asked things like, "Could you keep an open mind even if you're shown graphic crime scene photos? Have you ever been or known a victim of domestic violence?"

Glad you won't have that in your brain.

[prince-corwin.livejournal.com]

(they never did ask my view of capital punishment which probably would have had me eliminated)

In similar circumstances, I was asked my opinion on capital punishment. More specifically, should the trial go to a sentencing phase, would I be swayed by defense testimony as to the defendants' upbringing. The defense asked me that.

And I immediately though: "Oh, you believe you have already lost, don't you?" It must have shown on my face. I was dismissed.

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

I've been shocked at the poor quality of attorneys I've seen in the courtroom. I've sat on two juries now where we had to acquit for lack of basic, basic evidence. I've sat on a civil jury where no instruction was given about the difference between making a false statement and lying -- on a case of deceptive trade practices! I don't see how justice ever happens.