Jury Duty

I had quite the lesson in the legal system this past week- I was picked to be a juror on a murder trial. Definitely not a fun experience, but certainly educational.

Here are the top 10 things I learned by being on a jury:

10. Attorneys that are argumentative and confrontational with witnesses are a whole lot more interesting to listen to than those who are more polite.

9. Having the judge sit up so much higher than everyone else is at least partially to intimidate the jury.

8. Being involved with deciding someone's fate is not a pleasant place to be.

7. Sitting in a jury deliberation room for days on end,with only prison food to eat and the promise of being sequestered until a decision is reached, can actually drive one crazy.

6. A jury room halfway through a trial must be one of the most interesting places to test out social psychology theories. Would you cave if everyone else was against you and no one could go home until you changed your mind? Would your opinion of "reasonable" or "justified" change after hours or listening to other people's opinions about "reasonable" and "justified"?

5. A "jury of peers" means some of those "peers" will not know or believe one of the most basic fundamentals of our criminal justice system- innocent until proven guilty. Their vote still counts.

4. Smart, educated, reasonable people can hear the same case you heard and come to a completely different conclusion. Their vote counts the same as yours.

3. The question for juries to decide is not "guilty vs innocent," rather, it is "guilty vs reasonable doubt." Guilty men must go free if the prosecution cannot prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This does not sit well with most jurors, even smart, educated, reasonable ones.

2. It is difficult to keep one's thoughts straight when there is an innocent victim. How does letting a murderer go free on a technicality give that victim justice?

1. NEVER be the defendant in a jury trial. No offense, but I would not want my fate in the hands of my "peers"!!!

Boy am I glad to be getting back to my Real job now!