So, yes, the jury experience Monday was as fascinating as usual.
Hundreds of prospective jurors gathered in the Jury Assembly Room. It was more full than I've ever seen it -- standing room only. I guess everyone who received a summons showed up! Eventually, I was part of a group of 65 sent over to the 232nd Harris County District Court, Judge Mary Lou Keel presiding. A youngish black guy was accused of assaulting a police officer: a third degree felony with a potential sentence of 2-10 years in state prison.
The voir dire phase was as goofy as ever. Both sides asked numerous inane questions, and there seemed to be a high level of unstructured discussion compared to previous jury experiences. Plenty of Oprah-like personal confessions. Overall, the Assistant District Attorney seemed competent; the two-woman defense team was more impressive, at least style-wise. The lowlights included fifteen minutes of mass confusion when a defense attorney asked the group if we thought a "police officer can use excessive force" (i.e., could it happen) and about a dozen folk got tangled up thinking she was asking if it was OK for a police officer to do so -- the unwary were muddled between can and may.
I did note throughout the three hours that many fellow citizens (a) are quite willing to give obviously and ludicrously false replies in order to get out of serving, and (b) have the apparent IQs of lichen. Man, democracy is a risky and humbling business.
Anyway, after all was said and done, the attorneys made their peremptory strikes and I was... struck. Sigh of relief -- jury service is usually very inconvenient, even though vital, and this week is no exception. Got to grab a late lunch of gumbo, red beans, and corn bread at the fabled Treebeard's on Market Square just before it closed for the day, which made the trip downtown all worthwhile.
I sincerely hope the dozen who were picked are able to render justice, whichever side "wins." I've served on four previous juries; we reached two acquittals and two convictions, but with various difficulties. It's hard, hard work.
Posted by Alan at March 30, 2004 12:17 AM