A few weeks ago, the summons arrived in the mail. Today was my day to report for jury duty. I showed up at the Travis County Court House. That is here in Austin, Texas.
This was the second time Travis County had called me in for jury duty. It also happened about four years ago, and I was selected for the jury either. The whole thing went from 1:30 to about 4:30, and today was about the same time frame.
Once we got into the court room, the judge started talking to us. He went through the usual stuff about how jurors are supposed to judge the facts and only consider reasonable doubts. I naturally consider this baloney. If I ever am on a case, I will judge everything.
Then a woman began speaking to us--she was the prosecutor. She said this court was mostly for family issues, and this was a case of unlawful restraint. This was a misdemeanor, so it would be a trial with six jurors.
The most interesting I'd heard was that a prosecutor can charge someone even if the alleged victim doesn't want to file charges. This was one such case. She asked to consider reasons why someone would not want to file charges in this case.
She also asked everyone if they had been impacted by domestic violence or abuse in the family. Out of 35 potential jurors, only seven had no been impacted. A few had worked in professions which worked with this, like a cop or an ATF agent. Many had family members or other people close to them who had been impacted by this.
The defense attorney spoke next. He talked about the possibility that the defendant might not make an appearance either. He asked why a person would not want to appear on the stand as well.
Looking back now, it sounds like it may be an interesting trial. If the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrator aren't going to appear, then what is the whole point?
We were also asked if we considered police officers more trustworthy than the general public. I didn't raise my hand for this. Many did.
The prosecutor raised several objections to things that the defense attorney said. Every time, the judge told the defender to proceed.
I mentioned an issue in which a man had been charged for "unlawful restraint" because he had grabbed his partner's car keys when she was drunk. I also raised the possibility that prosecutors may have quotas just as police officers have quotas for speeding tickets.
I didn't get picked for the jury, but I hope I made the jurors who were picked think about some things. I went back to work and stayed three hours late to make for the time lost.
If you get a chance, make yourself heard. It may be disruptive to your day. It's also a place where you really can make a difference. Civilized society can survive with the ballot box. It won't survive without the jury box.
This was the second time Travis County had called me in for jury duty. It also happened about four years ago, and I was selected for the jury either. The whole thing went from 1:30 to about 4:30, and today was about the same time frame.
Once we got into the court room, the judge started talking to us. He went through the usual stuff about how jurors are supposed to judge the facts and only consider reasonable doubts. I naturally consider this baloney. If I ever am on a case, I will judge everything.
Then a woman began speaking to us--she was the prosecutor. She said this court was mostly for family issues, and this was a case of unlawful restraint. This was a misdemeanor, so it would be a trial with six jurors.
The most interesting I'd heard was that a prosecutor can charge someone even if the alleged victim doesn't want to file charges. This was one such case. She asked to consider reasons why someone would not want to file charges in this case.
She also asked everyone if they had been impacted by domestic violence or abuse in the family. Out of 35 potential jurors, only seven had no been impacted. A few had worked in professions which worked with this, like a cop or an ATF agent. Many had family members or other people close to them who had been impacted by this.
The defense attorney spoke next. He talked about the possibility that the defendant might not make an appearance either. He asked why a person would not want to appear on the stand as well.
Looking back now, it sounds like it may be an interesting trial. If the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrator aren't going to appear, then what is the whole point?
We were also asked if we considered police officers more trustworthy than the general public. I didn't raise my hand for this. Many did.
The prosecutor raised several objections to things that the defense attorney said. Every time, the judge told the defender to proceed.
I mentioned an issue in which a man had been charged for "unlawful restraint" because he had grabbed his partner's car keys when she was drunk. I also raised the possibility that prosecutors may have quotas just as police officers have quotas for speeding tickets.
I didn't get picked for the jury, but I hope I made the jurors who were picked think about some things. I went back to work and stayed three hours late to make for the time lost.
If you get a chance, make yourself heard. It may be disruptive to your day. It's also a place where you really can make a difference. Civilized society can survive with the ballot box. It won't survive without the jury box.
