Hello. Jury duty is over. Late in the day Thursday, we found the defendant, charged with indecent liberties, to be not guilty. The state did not have enough evidence, in our opinion, to make a conviction. The deliberation lasted 12 minutes.
I have wondered since then whether we went through the process of deliberating too quickly, but I don’t think we did. It was obvious to me _ and to the other 11 jurors _ that the evidence in the case was lacking and that it boiled down to a case of he-said-she-said. We did not know who was telling the truth. So we returned a ‘not guilty’ verdict.
As for the process, I found it to be invigorating and informative. I would be on a jury next week if I could, although I’m not so sure the folks at The Eagle would be enthusiastic about that scenario. Who knows? Maybe they would.
I got to know some new people. The jury was definitely made up of an interesting collection of people. Some were college educated and some were not. Several worked at aircraft plants, which only makes sense. There was a teacher and a retired teacher. There was a firefighter (female) and a tree trimmer. There was a guy with really long hair and a woman with really short hair. There was an interior decorator and a woman who works for eye surgeons.
And there was me.
I miss those people today. A little bit. I really do. I miss being on the jury. I don’t think many of the others do, not from the way they talked. They all seemed really eager to get out of the courthouse and back to their lives. I understand that; I’m glad to be back to my routine.
But jury duty was much more fulfilling than I expected it to be. I hope I get to experience it again.
For now, though, it’s back to the world of sports. It’s a much different world.
2 Comments
I have never been on a jury and have been wanting to be on one since I turned 18. Some people I know have been on 2 or 3 so far; just not sure how this system picks people to sit on a jury.
In response to your Dale Jr. question from Tuesday; He’s only were he’s at now due to his name. If his name was Bob Smith he wouldn’t be as famous or as rich as he is now. That last name got him everything he has, and for that he should be thankful. I was a huge fan of his Dad’s but it is hard for me to cheer as loud for Jr. And that might have to do with his lack of success. Or the fact I have given up watching Nascar pretty much now.
So Bob how were the legal professionals? The judge, the lawyers were you impressed, disappointed or something else?