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January 6, 2005
Runaway Jury
I've just spent the last two days serving on a jury for a civil case, hence the recent blog silence. I actually mildly enjoyed serving, although some of the medical testimony got a bit tedious. Like GHW, I'm in temporary limbo, waiting for the new semester to start, and serving on a jury only threw my already disoriented time schedule even further off course.
I'm still coming to grips with what I found so interesting about it, but certainly it's difficult to participate on a jury without viewing that experience outside the lens of courtroom drama. Even though jury deliberations lasted about fifteen minutes total, I couldn't avoid thinking about Twelve Angry Men. The lawyer for the defense seemed like a character out of a John Grisham movie, and even the judge reminded us on a couple of occasions that "this isn't Court TV."
It's also strange to have such intense interaction with twelve strangers over the course of two days and then just walk away. Hearing the foreman of the jury read the verdict also seemed anti-climactic. I think I expected orchestral music to be piped in as the verdict was read and to see stronger emotional reactions to it. Also intersting to see how the various jurors reacted to various pieces of evidence; what seemed important or credible to some of the other jurors seemed less convincing to me (and vice versa).
But the good news is that jury duty (not to mention the winter holiday) has given me an excuse to be a little more self-indulgent than usual in my TV and movie watching. I finally rented the first season of The Office last night, and I'm really enjoying it. Also got my weekly High School Reunion fix (still very much addicted). But I also caught, and recommend Bruno Dumont's dark and challenging film, Twentynine Palms. A little too low energy to write a longer review right now, but while it's a difficult film to watch, philosophically I think it's pretty intersting.
Posted by chuck at January 6, 2005 4:56 PM
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Comments
Yeah, trials are not as glamorous as the entertainment world makes them out to be. I went to law school for this?
Posted by: Jen at January 6, 2005 7:05 PM
Years ago, I was on a grand jury. When it was done, I found the whole operation to be very corrupt.
j
Posted by: jeff at January 6, 2005 7:09 PM
I was foreman on a jury in Chicago one time. It wasn't an especially interesting case--as the prosecutor said, it was "he done it," rather than a "whodunit"--but we still had tensions in the jury room, holdouts, etc.
Despite my certainty about the defendant's guilt, delivering the verdict in open court was surprisingly unsettling. And since I'm pretty sure the guy's still in jail, it's *still* a little unsettling.
Good luck with the new semester! We're off until the 24th.
Posted by: Jason (J) at January 6, 2005 7:51 PM
Jason: Yeah, at least we didn't have to worry about sentencing someone to jail. That would be very difficult, I'm sure. I *still* found it a little depressing to find against the plaintiff even if he did seem like the litigious sort.
Jeff: I've heard grand juries can be very taxing. Curious to see why that led you to find the system so "corrupt."
Jen: I sometimes have the same reaction to bing a college professor....
Posted by: Chuck ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://chutry.wordherders.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 6, 2005 8:57 PM
Chuck -- Wearing a tweed jacket with leather elbow pads may make you feel more like a professor. (If you're not already doing that.)
Posted by: Jen at January 6, 2005 9:55 PM
I'm not much of a tweed jacket kind of guy. I have stopped wearing blue jeans when I teach, and that certainly makes me appear more professorial. I think I was referring more to the lack of glamour. You don't see Robin Williams grading student papers in Dead Poets Society, for example....
Posted by: Chuck at January 7, 2005 1:50 PM
Hey Chuck
The whole grand jury system is just rigged to the district attorney's desire: do I want an indictment? I just show the jury evidence to suggest guilt. Etc. You don't get to see two sides; you only see the district attorney's side. It just seemed like an excuse so that the district attorney could either get someone indicted or let off without accepting responsibility either way. The topic is too hot a topic? Let me sway the grand jury to say what I want and I don't have to take the heat if the public gets pissed.
Posted by: jeff at January 8, 2005 11:06 AM
Interesting take, Jeff. The other two people I know had much more positive experiences, but I think they may have been "seduced" by the power relationship involved (both invoked the idea of "service").
Posted by: Chuck at January 8, 2005 1:54 PM