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magidI had been called for jury duty a couple of months ago. I was surprised when I opened the summons to find that I was to go to Marlborough (about 25 miles away), rather than to a more local courthouse (like, say, the one down the street from me). The online system would let me defer the date, but there wasn't anything open for more than a year after, and the only reason I could shift location was if I could show hardship. Since I do have a car, I couldn't claim that.
They sent a reminder notice with a questionnaire on the back, with instructions to call after 3 P.M. the day before to confirm whether to go in or not. I called, and everyone was to appear. I was very conflicted: I wanted to do my civic duty, but I'd just found out that there would be a funeral that afternoon that I wanted to attend.
So yesterday, I set out in the car (not by bike, which had been a possibility, but between the chance I could make it to the funeral, the projected high temperatures (93! in April! global climate change indeed), and my long ride the day before, it was definitely a car day) heading west, bringing all sorts of stuff for different contingencies (food, water, parasol, change of black clothing, book, crocheting, you name it). I got to the juror room just before 8:30, as indicated on the reminder, and found that the machine message the day before had said 8. I'm totally visual; I think I morphed the mention on voice mail to "show up between 8 and 8:30." The bailiff, or clerk, or whoever he was, was in the middle of describing how things would go, then put in a video that reviewed the system*. After that, he scanned in my questionnaire (the others had done this before), and gave me a number.
* In MA, it's the one day/one trial system, so most people serve only one day when they're called, since most cases don't continue into a second day. In criminal cases, the verdict must be unanimous, but the judge does the sentencing. In civil cases, up to a sixth of the jurors can disagree, and the jury determines the sentence. And a lot of repetition of how only answers to questions are testimony, not the questions, not the opening statements, not the closing statements. Plus how the jury determines the truth of the situation. Rah, jury team, go!
And then we sat.
In Cambridge, the jury room is large, and there's space to walk around, or sit, whatever. In Marlborough, we were in a small room filled with rows of chairs, so it was pretty much all sitting. They had a TV tuned to stupid morning talk shows, which I listened to as I crocheted, then blocked out as I read. It was frustrating not to be able to stretch or anything.
The bailiff came back and said that there were 15 cases possible today, but likely most, if not all, would settle (or weren't ready after all, I suppose). They have juries only 6 days a month in Marlborough; I'm not sure why so seldom. We hung around a while longer, then were told that only one case was going to jury that day, and there was always the chance that the defendant would settle when he saw the jury.
However, not in this case. We filed into a courtroom that looked nothing like any TV courtroom, since it had been designed in the 70s, and probably not updated since then. The judge introduced himself, then had the lawyers do the same, then the defendant and the three witnesses. We were asked if we knew any of them. Then there was a a series of questions that seemed to be repetitions of other questions we'd handed in, which I think is why I was too slow when the judge asked if anyone had a reason not to be there. I didn't raise my hand in time, and I was too abashed to interrupt proceedings later. I'm still not sure how much to kick myself over this: it meant I missed the funeral, where all the friends and family were gathered to wish him goodbye, as a community. However, standing outside in the sun for a couple of hours in the heat... I do extremely poorly in those situations. I'm left with regret, but part of me relieved to have a good reason not to have to be out, too.
Juror numbers were called out, and seven people went to the jury box, seated in some order that the bailiff seemed to be particular about (still no clue why). The last number called was 8, and I was 9. I sat and hoped. But someone was dismissed, and I was next. There was a bit more back and forth, until seven of us were sworn in, and the others let go (around 11:30). We'd already been told that they usually broke for lunch around 1, and there were only three witnesses... I started to hope things would wrap by lunch, and I'd be able to go to Sharon after all.
It started slowly. The two lawyers made opening statements, then the first witness was called by the DA. Two of the three witnesses were Brazilian, as was the defendant, so the interpreter who was there with the defendant interpreted throughout. He did a good job as far as I could tell, but of course, everything being said twice slows things down some.
The case was about A, who owed B money for housepainting they'd done for a client. A had been paid by the client, and B wanted his money. B came to collect, and A sent his roommate C, who knew both of them, down with about a quarter of the money, promising the rest next week. Not long afterward, A's van was vandalized, all the windows broken and tires slashed. The charges against B were both damage to another's property and threats (of murder). As the witnesses testified, it seemed clear that the police hadn't been very thorough in their investigation (no photos of the van, for instance), and when there's a debate about phone calls between two parties on cell phones, I'd expect records from phone bills to back up the testimony. We weren't the lawyers, though, just the jury, so we had to take whatever testimony they elicited from the witnesses and determine the truth from that.
It got later, and before closing arguments, the judge called the lunch break. I knew then I'd never make it to the funeral.
We were to be back by 2, and as people came in, started chatting, trying hard to avoid discussing the case until we were sent for deliberations. I was surprised how far some people had come (Lowell, Cambridge); we theorized that they try to get people from farther away to make it less likely that jurors have a connection to anyone in the case.
For some reason weren't called until quarter to 3 for closing arguments and the judge's instructions to the jury. I found the defense attorney's summing up frustrating, mostly because he wouldn't make eye contact with anyone in the jury, and partly because he emphasized things that I thought were irrelevant to the actual issue. The DA seemed much more at ease in addressing us, much more confident in his role.
After that, they randomly picked one juror (using the questionnaires again) as the alternate (and took her to a separate room), and one juror as foreperson, handing her a paper for each charge. Then we were escorted into the next room for our deliberations.
Interestingly, after going over the evidence for the first time, five of us agreed on a verdict. The last guy, though, was pointing out that it was possible B didn't do this. The rest of us went over telling points that had convinced us: the 15 minute window for the vandalism, the baseball bat the roommate had been shown, the improbability that anyone else would have done it, the fact that there were two other people there who were too scared to come forward, and so on. After a while, he concurred. Our decision: guilty of vandalism, not guilty of threats.
We were thanked for our service, and released at 4. We could have stayed to hear the sentencing, but all of us were ready to be out and about by then; the courthouse in Marlborough has some lovely views of the lake, but the physical set up is fairly dismal, and staying there even longer was not appealing (as it were :-). I might check to see whether the court records will become available online, though.
And I was lucky: friends told me about the funeral, and took me along to a gathering of his friends, which very much helped. Today, I have a shiva call to make.
They sent a reminder notice with a questionnaire on the back, with instructions to call after 3 P.M. the day before to confirm whether to go in or not. I called, and everyone was to appear. I was very conflicted: I wanted to do my civic duty, but I'd just found out that there would be a funeral that afternoon that I wanted to attend.
So yesterday, I set out in the car (not by bike, which had been a possibility, but between the chance I could make it to the funeral, the projected high temperatures (93! in April! global climate change indeed), and my long ride the day before, it was definitely a car day) heading west, bringing all sorts of stuff for different contingencies (food, water, parasol, change of black clothing, book, crocheting, you name it). I got to the juror room just before 8:30, as indicated on the reminder, and found that the machine message the day before had said 8. I'm totally visual; I think I morphed the mention on voice mail to "show up between 8 and 8:30." The bailiff, or clerk, or whoever he was, was in the middle of describing how things would go, then put in a video that reviewed the system*. After that, he scanned in my questionnaire (the others had done this before), and gave me a number.
* In MA, it's the one day/one trial system, so most people serve only one day when they're called, since most cases don't continue into a second day. In criminal cases, the verdict must be unanimous, but the judge does the sentencing. In civil cases, up to a sixth of the jurors can disagree, and the jury determines the sentence. And a lot of repetition of how only answers to questions are testimony, not the questions, not the opening statements, not the closing statements. Plus how the jury determines the truth of the situation. Rah, jury team, go!
And then we sat.
In Cambridge, the jury room is large, and there's space to walk around, or sit, whatever. In Marlborough, we were in a small room filled with rows of chairs, so it was pretty much all sitting. They had a TV tuned to stupid morning talk shows, which I listened to as I crocheted, then blocked out as I read. It was frustrating not to be able to stretch or anything.
The bailiff came back and said that there were 15 cases possible today, but likely most, if not all, would settle (or weren't ready after all, I suppose). They have juries only 6 days a month in Marlborough; I'm not sure why so seldom. We hung around a while longer, then were told that only one case was going to jury that day, and there was always the chance that the defendant would settle when he saw the jury.
However, not in this case. We filed into a courtroom that looked nothing like any TV courtroom, since it had been designed in the 70s, and probably not updated since then. The judge introduced himself, then had the lawyers do the same, then the defendant and the three witnesses. We were asked if we knew any of them. Then there was a a series of questions that seemed to be repetitions of other questions we'd handed in, which I think is why I was too slow when the judge asked if anyone had a reason not to be there. I didn't raise my hand in time, and I was too abashed to interrupt proceedings later. I'm still not sure how much to kick myself over this: it meant I missed the funeral, where all the friends and family were gathered to wish him goodbye, as a community. However, standing outside in the sun for a couple of hours in the heat... I do extremely poorly in those situations. I'm left with regret, but part of me relieved to have a good reason not to have to be out, too.
Juror numbers were called out, and seven people went to the jury box, seated in some order that the bailiff seemed to be particular about (still no clue why). The last number called was 8, and I was 9. I sat and hoped. But someone was dismissed, and I was next. There was a bit more back and forth, until seven of us were sworn in, and the others let go (around 11:30). We'd already been told that they usually broke for lunch around 1, and there were only three witnesses... I started to hope things would wrap by lunch, and I'd be able to go to Sharon after all.
It started slowly. The two lawyers made opening statements, then the first witness was called by the DA. Two of the three witnesses were Brazilian, as was the defendant, so the interpreter who was there with the defendant interpreted throughout. He did a good job as far as I could tell, but of course, everything being said twice slows things down some.
The case was about A, who owed B money for housepainting they'd done for a client. A had been paid by the client, and B wanted his money. B came to collect, and A sent his roommate C, who knew both of them, down with about a quarter of the money, promising the rest next week. Not long afterward, A's van was vandalized, all the windows broken and tires slashed. The charges against B were both damage to another's property and threats (of murder). As the witnesses testified, it seemed clear that the police hadn't been very thorough in their investigation (no photos of the van, for instance), and when there's a debate about phone calls between two parties on cell phones, I'd expect records from phone bills to back up the testimony. We weren't the lawyers, though, just the jury, so we had to take whatever testimony they elicited from the witnesses and determine the truth from that.
It got later, and before closing arguments, the judge called the lunch break. I knew then I'd never make it to the funeral.
We were to be back by 2, and as people came in, started chatting, trying hard to avoid discussing the case until we were sent for deliberations. I was surprised how far some people had come (Lowell, Cambridge); we theorized that they try to get people from farther away to make it less likely that jurors have a connection to anyone in the case.
For some reason weren't called until quarter to 3 for closing arguments and the judge's instructions to the jury. I found the defense attorney's summing up frustrating, mostly because he wouldn't make eye contact with anyone in the jury, and partly because he emphasized things that I thought were irrelevant to the actual issue. The DA seemed much more at ease in addressing us, much more confident in his role.
After that, they randomly picked one juror (using the questionnaires again) as the alternate (and took her to a separate room), and one juror as foreperson, handing her a paper for each charge. Then we were escorted into the next room for our deliberations.
Interestingly, after going over the evidence for the first time, five of us agreed on a verdict. The last guy, though, was pointing out that it was possible B didn't do this. The rest of us went over telling points that had convinced us: the 15 minute window for the vandalism, the baseball bat the roommate had been shown, the improbability that anyone else would have done it, the fact that there were two other people there who were too scared to come forward, and so on. After a while, he concurred. Our decision: guilty of vandalism, not guilty of threats.
We were thanked for our service, and released at 4. We could have stayed to hear the sentencing, but all of us were ready to be out and about by then; the courthouse in Marlborough has some lovely views of the lake, but the physical set up is fairly dismal, and staying there even longer was not appealing (as it were :-). I might check to see whether the court records will become available online, though.
And I was lucky: friends told me about the funeral, and took me along to a gathering of his friends, which very much helped. Today, I have a shiva call to make.
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-29 06:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-29 10:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 02:03 am (UTC)And as for jury duty, what I didn't put in was just how slowly things seemed to move during the trial. The layout was inefficient, so every time the counsel approached the bench, there were circuitous paths. Lots of questions got asked multiple times. Etc. It was hard to just sit there sometimes; I wanted to be able to ask questions, or do something.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 01:16 am (UTC)districtcounty. Meaning randomly sampled from the entire area.no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 04:12 am (UTC)I am sorry you missed the funeral, though the heat was pretty bad generally. (What is it with the weather? 50s to low 60s, then 80s and 90s, and no real breaks for high 60s to mid 70s. Very Annoying!)
no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 12:06 pm (UTC)No clue about this weather; I'm just glad it's calmed down again.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-01 03:13 am (UTC)Excellent write-up.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-01 11:49 am (UTC)