This is a continuation of my jury duty story as posted in earlier posts.
As instructed in the orientation, I called the "special" number on Wednesday Aug. 23rd after 4:30 PM. The new message stated that jurors serving in the month of August were to report at 1:15pm to courtroom C. I thought that was odd, so I called several times yesterday just to make sure. Fact is, I assumed Judge Wilson was giving the parties more time to settle, boy was I wrong.
I arrived about 15 minutes early to quite a few familiar faces. Since we got called up so much this month, the jury pool had gotten to know each other pretty well. We all sat exchanging comments about the months cases and how we weaseled out of juries. All in good fun. The courtroom we reported to is Judge Wilson's who is a great guy. He is very cut to the chase, as funny as any stand up comedian and the lead of a local band that plays around town. He's great.
At exactly 1:15, (our reporting time) the judges door opened and the very different looking plain clothes federal bailiff barked, "all rise blah blah blah." The man who stepped from the door was NOT Wilson and the entire panel kind of gasped at the sign of this new and very unfriendly looking judge.
This new judge announced that we were called to serve his court since he ran out of jurors and we were "obligated" to come as requested this month. As he talked, I observed that he almost growled low and soft and seemed intolerant or impatient. After roll call, he introduced himself and the case. He read the acquittal slowly, strongly and with authority. He reminded us that an acquittal is nothing more than an accusation and that it cannot be used as evidence or that it should not be considered as such. Truth be told, from a jurors perspective, the acquittal does carry some weight in that we know that 12 jurors heard the evidence and at least 9 found enough reason to make an official charge. It's not supposed to affect the juror, but it does none the less.
In a nut shell, the defendant was acquitted on 10 counts. Basically, a triple homicide and robbery in a neighboring county more than 10 years ago. WHAT? Oh my gosh... this is HUGE
The judge explained why we were called and how the process (quite different from other times we were 'processed') would work. He explained that another 5 days of jury selection would take place and then the case would take no less than 3 weeks. The entire jury panel gasped and started squirming.
This is where the judge became more personable and clear. He said that he understood that our summons as jurors were for the month of August and apologized for the circumstances. He also was clear that if serving on a jury for this length of time would result in extraordinary hardship, he would consider excusing us. He even expanded his explanation with a couple of examples. He said, "If you have travel plans and have made deposits or purchased airline tickets, I will excuse you." He continued, "if serving on this jury would cause you to loose your home, car or cause extreme financial hardship, I will excuse you." After which, we received another "speech" about the significance of serving as a juror and the civic duty we have to our community. It was a good speech.
We were instructed to move to another courtroom and if any of us had a valid reason to be excused, the judge would hear our reasons. We were to let the bailiff know once we got into the other room. Was sat in the "bankruptcy court," and as predicted, the bailiff asked who would like to speak to the judge. More than half of the 100 or so jurors raised their hands. They took the "whiners" out 8 at a time... I can say that because I raised my hand too. It took two hours.
Of course, they started on the other side of the room and I settled in for a long wait. I got to talk to the people around me and get to know them a little. Most of the conversations were about why we each should be excused, but that got old and we discussed many other things.
It was interesting because I noticed that a lot few people returned to the holding area than were led out. I would say about 2/3 of the people coming from the judge went to the elevator instead of the holding room. That was good... but then my luck with this months jury process was not so good.
Once it was my turn, I was led to the hallway where there were 8 chairs in a line. Each juror was allowed to approach the bench one by one. Each time the bailiff barked "next," the first chair would empty and we would all scoot down one chair. I noticed how nervous people got in that first chair... by the time I made it to chair number one... I was nervous too.
The plain clothes bailiff barked "NEXT", and I rose. In my typical confident manner, I quickly made my way across the exceptional large courtroom to the elaborate "bench" of the judges seat. The legal counsel for the Commonwealth stepped aside and allowed me to center myself on the judge, pressed between the lawyers for both parties I was allowed to make my 'case' to be excused. Interestingly, the accused triple murderer was one lawyer away from me to my right, this was a little uncomfortable but that had no effect on my "pitch." I did notice in my peripheral that he would lean in to try to make eye contact, I refused. Frankly... he gave me the creeps.The judge asked my name, found my profile sheet and then asked me if I was related to Judge J. David Francis, I said "Only if it will help me be excused." Which lightened the mood significantly.
I explained to the judge and all within range that at the beginning of the month, I had prepared a long letter of explanation as to the financial hardship that jury duty would have on me and my business. I told him that I had it all written down on the day of orientation but after hearing Judge Wilson explain the significance and importance of jury duty, I decided to serve without complaint. I also joked that I was selected to serve a two day case the very next day. They all laughed.
I explained to the judge that I had received notice that I will be loosing a key client at the end of the year and that I was doing my best to build my small business to replace that income. I explained that I am in the middle of some significant projects that could ensure the success of my company but further argued that if I were to serve for 21 days, I would likely loose the current clients and it would take me months to replace them. I reminded him that I had never shrugged my commitment to public service even so far as accepting a role in civil defense as recently as last week.
He smiled and said, "You would have made a good juror..." (I'm FREE, I though to myself.) and the judge continued with some platitudes and nice things about my character and then said, "I am going to excuse you from this jury... thank you for your service."
WHEW! That was close. I was so very relieved.
In the end, my opinion of the judge (I can't remember his name to save my life) had improved well before my excusal. He turned out to be a fair man who was patient, kind, considerate and much more gentle than his rough exterior indicated.
I was also informed that the case scheduled for the 29th had been settled and that this completes my service as juror. I was very happy to hear that news in the end.
In all, jury service was not all that bad, though my luck or lack thereof resulted in serving on the very first case (really bad one too), and being selected for all but one of the many cases this month. Even the nice lady who took roll and accomplished the random selection with the little balls commented that this was an extraordinarily busy month for jurors. Judge Wilson indicated that July jurors were subject to 10 scheduled trials and were never called in to serve because all cases were either delayed or settled. Just my luck that not only did all but one case go to trial, but even got an extra triple homicide case as a bonus.
Still in the end, it was frustrating to have my life/business interrupted and somewhat "inconvenient" to drive across town, I enjoyed the experience. I met some really nice people and experienced the court system in KY. Both (all three actually) circuit judges seemed fair, kind and just. I was a little peeved that my written request to be excused was denied, but now in hindsight, I'm glad I had the chance to serve my community and our important justice system.
I have strong opinions about the justice system in the United States. In some areas I'm sure we could have some improvement such as the civil lawsuits and prison system. But this glimpse into one small piece of the process was encouraging. I was able to see the system work and though I don't think it's flawless, I do think it is the best in the free world. Judge Grise gave us a brief lecture about our legal system and though I've probably had the same lecture in school, his left an impression because of the context. I was sitting in the jury box as an active member of the process. It felt good.
Oh, and as far as the other jurors? Once again I'm reminded why I love Bowling Green Ky so much. Without exception, everyone I talked to was friendly and I truly enjoyed getting to know many of them. It's more than just "nice people." Our community is very fortunate to have an over abundance of caring souls who default to generosity and kindness. Carrie and I had that "where would we move" conversation just this week. I said, nowhere. I explained that as long as it remains in my power, we are staying in Bowling Green and southcentral Kentucky. There is no better place to live in my opinion. From the people to the climate, from business opportunities to the infrastructure, Bowling Green is the place I want to live.
Thus ends the Jury chapter for 2006. God bless America!
