During the month of January I was selected for Jury Duty in Lewis County Superior Court. I have had Jury Duty several times before, but this experience was different. First of all, if you have Jury Duty, try and get it in December and NOT in January. Most of the cases in December get pushed until January because of the holidays.
In the past I have been on one trial, and it was an L&I appeal where the lawyers just read the transcript from the original trial. Well, you know how lawyers are... let's just say it was dry! I was picked as the head juror and as soon as we went in to deliberate we took a vote. It was unanimous so that was quite easy.
I checked the night before and my first date was January 4. I was a little anxious because Michelle & the kids were here and I hoped I wouldn't get chosen. As it turns out it was a 10 day trial involving the City of Chehalis and some contractors. Because the trial was so long they called in two panels. I was Juror #50 so I felt pretty good. The Voir Dire (Jury selection) took a fair amount of time. We were first by the judge asked if any of us knew the attorneys, any of the witnesses or if we had knowledge of the case. One by one jurors were excused, I started getting a little nervous. The big question was asking us if the length of the trial would be a difficulty. I couldn't think of any excuses but plenty of people did.
In Lewis County we are paid a whopping $15 a day for Jury Duty, plus mileage. The daily rate was set in 1959 (hey, that's the year I was born!) when $15 actually meant something for a days pay. That equates to about $80 to $90 in today's wages. We are not even paid minimum wages! So to start off, many people can't afford to serve as a juror because they can't afford to miss work. So, that excused a lot of jurors. In the end I was a lucky one, I was not chosen. I probably would have been quite bored listening to construction jargon etc.
I was called in a total of 6 times and I was a juror on two cases, both involving drugs/alcohol. When we were being selected for one of the cases the defense attorney got up and asked "How many of you walked in and looked at my client and thought 'What did he do'"? Most of us raised our hand, I mean this is Lewis County we are talking about! He commented that we should be thinking What is he being accused of. He was absolutely right and in the legal system that is what we should do. Each time I came in for jury selection I tried to look at it that way.
One case involved drugs sitting out on a counter in someones home. To me it was obvious that the person charged was guilty, but when you read the specific instructions you are given, and the law, it is not always cut and dry. After some discussion we said not guilty, I was the last to give in. What I thought was interesting was the bailiff left the evidence in with us, a little baggie with Cocaine in it. I am happy to report that it was all returned and the baggie was not opened.
My last day to go in was the last working day of the month. I was concerned it would only be a one day trial. If it were a 2 week trial we could most likely be called to it. It was a DUI/harassment case and it went very quickly. There were a couple of people that disagreed and once again we talked about it. Sometimes when you listen to another person's perspective your attitude can change. Did you know that you can claim that you were so drunk because you drank so much, that you can say you blacked out and don't remember a thing and possibly get away with whatever you did? Well, no sir, not for us. NEVER, NEVER tell a law enforcement official that you are going to kill him or his family. I had zero sympathy for this person.
In the end, one young lady got off and I hoped she learned a lesson but I think she is still with the guy. We found the other guilty and I also hope he learned a lesson. I highly doubt it in both cases.
I was also in for Jury Selection for a murder trial, another 10 day trial. We were the second panel so I was hoping I could skate by again. It was a case that happened in 2000 so it had been in the paper, news etc. Funny thing is that I read my local paper everyday and I honestly didn't remember anything about it. Initially we all had to fill out a questionnaire to eliminate those that had heard about it. I was honest and said I didn't know anything. I felt doomed. After almost 3 hours we were sent home without the attorneys interviewing us. A couple of days later I read in the paper that we were excused because the defendant was brought into our courtroom wearing his lovely orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. We were all tainted so we had to be excused. The case is still going and two jurors have already been dismissed. I think they rode in the same elevator as a family member so they were sent home. They are down to 1 alternate. I feel so important, we were in the paper!
I found the entire process extremely informative and I look forward to serving again. Yes, it was inconvenient because I never knew when I had to go in again so it was difficult to schedule appointments. But I learned a lot about the legal system, judges, bailiffs etc. It's not anything at all like Judge Judy or the People's Court!
Gary has Chehalis Municipal Court for February!
In the past I have been on one trial, and it was an L&I appeal where the lawyers just read the transcript from the original trial. Well, you know how lawyers are... let's just say it was dry! I was picked as the head juror and as soon as we went in to deliberate we took a vote. It was unanimous so that was quite easy.
I checked the night before and my first date was January 4. I was a little anxious because Michelle & the kids were here and I hoped I wouldn't get chosen. As it turns out it was a 10 day trial involving the City of Chehalis and some contractors. Because the trial was so long they called in two panels. I was Juror #50 so I felt pretty good. The Voir Dire (Jury selection) took a fair amount of time. We were first by the judge asked if any of us knew the attorneys, any of the witnesses or if we had knowledge of the case. One by one jurors were excused, I started getting a little nervous. The big question was asking us if the length of the trial would be a difficulty. I couldn't think of any excuses but plenty of people did.
In Lewis County we are paid a whopping $15 a day for Jury Duty, plus mileage. The daily rate was set in 1959 (hey, that's the year I was born!) when $15 actually meant something for a days pay. That equates to about $80 to $90 in today's wages. We are not even paid minimum wages! So to start off, many people can't afford to serve as a juror because they can't afford to miss work. So, that excused a lot of jurors. In the end I was a lucky one, I was not chosen. I probably would have been quite bored listening to construction jargon etc.
I was called in a total of 6 times and I was a juror on two cases, both involving drugs/alcohol. When we were being selected for one of the cases the defense attorney got up and asked "How many of you walked in and looked at my client and thought 'What did he do'"? Most of us raised our hand, I mean this is Lewis County we are talking about! He commented that we should be thinking What is he being accused of. He was absolutely right and in the legal system that is what we should do. Each time I came in for jury selection I tried to look at it that way.
One case involved drugs sitting out on a counter in someones home. To me it was obvious that the person charged was guilty, but when you read the specific instructions you are given, and the law, it is not always cut and dry. After some discussion we said not guilty, I was the last to give in. What I thought was interesting was the bailiff left the evidence in with us, a little baggie with Cocaine in it. I am happy to report that it was all returned and the baggie was not opened.
My last day to go in was the last working day of the month. I was concerned it would only be a one day trial. If it were a 2 week trial we could most likely be called to it. It was a DUI/harassment case and it went very quickly. There were a couple of people that disagreed and once again we talked about it. Sometimes when you listen to another person's perspective your attitude can change. Did you know that you can claim that you were so drunk because you drank so much, that you can say you blacked out and don't remember a thing and possibly get away with whatever you did? Well, no sir, not for us. NEVER, NEVER tell a law enforcement official that you are going to kill him or his family. I had zero sympathy for this person.
In the end, one young lady got off and I hoped she learned a lesson but I think she is still with the guy. We found the other guilty and I also hope he learned a lesson. I highly doubt it in both cases.
I was also in for Jury Selection for a murder trial, another 10 day trial. We were the second panel so I was hoping I could skate by again. It was a case that happened in 2000 so it had been in the paper, news etc. Funny thing is that I read my local paper everyday and I honestly didn't remember anything about it. Initially we all had to fill out a questionnaire to eliminate those that had heard about it. I was honest and said I didn't know anything. I felt doomed. After almost 3 hours we were sent home without the attorneys interviewing us. A couple of days later I read in the paper that we were excused because the defendant was brought into our courtroom wearing his lovely orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. We were all tainted so we had to be excused. The case is still going and two jurors have already been dismissed. I think they rode in the same elevator as a family member so they were sent home. They are down to 1 alternate. I feel so important, we were in the paper!
I found the entire process extremely informative and I look forward to serving again. Yes, it was inconvenient because I never knew when I had to go in again so it was difficult to schedule appointments. But I learned a lot about the legal system, judges, bailiffs etc. It's not anything at all like Judge Judy or the People's Court!
Gary has Chehalis Municipal Court for February!
2 comments:
Kurt was recently called for Superior Court - which I think is hilarious. He's hoping it's one of his own cases.
I'm sure it would be very enlightening to see some of the cases in a REAL LIFE way, instead of the SVU way that I'm so fond of. Way to go Juror Kirsten!
By the way, I agree with you that even if you black out, you're accountable for all your actions because you CHOSE to drink too much, so you must deal with the consequences.
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