We the Jury

Recently I had the opportunity to serve on a jury. It was a new experience for me and I'm not even sure if anyone I know has ever served on one.

When I first received my jury summons, I was not particularly pleased. I really didn't know what to expect and I wanted to avoid trials for major crimes, such as rape and murder. Even if all the evidence pointed to a defendant's guilt, I would always wonder if I had helped put an innocent person in prison (or worse). So when I made the phone call the night before to see if I had to report in, I was somewhat discouraged when my group number was one that would be needed.

The next day I dutifully reported in early and then proceeded to sit in a room with about 15 or so other people. Nobody talked to anybody else and most of us just sat there and read. Then the bailiff came in and showed us a movie about jury duty. (The movie was an actual video tape. Have these people heard of DVDs?) After another wait, we finally all traipsed into the courtroom and were assigned numbers.

Then the judge told us about the case. It was for somebody accused of driving under the influence. From what I could tell, there was only one witness: the officer who had arrested the defendant. One witness? This trial could be over today. A DUI? This case should be super easy. Just show me the results of the Breathalyzer and we are out of here. Sign me up.

After the judge and lawyer asked the group a bunch of questions, a couple of potential jurors were eliminated and the six people who happened to be in the front row were assigned to the actual jury. And I was one of them.

The actual trial finally began. One of the first things we learned was that the defendant had refused a Breathalyzer test. We had to base his guilt or innocence on the way he had been driving and results of field sobriety tests. Maybe not so easy after all. The police officer took the witness stand. His testimony must have taken the better part of two hours. Questions had to be broken down into little pieces. The same questions had to be repeated for each individual part of the field sobriety test. It got incredibly boring after a while, but I managed to stay awake and tried not to make up my mind regarding a verdict yet.

I actually got to hear in a real courtroom those things they say on those TV crime dramas:
"Let the record show that the witness has identified the defendant..." "Could you please demonstrate to the jury..." "This has been marked as exhibit A." "The prosecution rests, your honor." "The defense rests, your honor." I was hoping I could hear somebody shout "Objection!" but that didn't happen.

Eventually, we received our jury instructions, heard closing arguments, and finally went in to deliberate. The defendant had apparently been drinking, but had he consumed enough to be impaired in his driving? This is what we had to decide. Reaching a verdict didn't take much time. We talked for about 15 minutes and we were all in agreement. Reading the verdict took even less time. But after seeing all the details that had to be covered to make sure people get a fair trial, I can understand why everything in the legal system takes so much time.

All in all, it was a very interesting and educational experience. If I ever get a jury summons again, I don't have to wonder what will happen. I would even look forward to serving again if it is a simple case. With one witness. That can be completed in a day. Maybe two at the most.