Jury Duty

I got called for Jury Duty this week. Actually I got called for three different Jury Duties, but since I can only be in one place at a time they excused me from two of them. The one I ended up with was to serve as a petit juror for the Alaska Court System on a Criminal Case.

Free parking was provided for everybody called to serve but there was some confusion as the parking garage normally used by the court house is undergoing reconstruction at the moment, so they had to reroute everybody to different locations. Even though the instructions were quite clear as to where we go and how we handle the parking fees, there were still a lot of people who didn’t understand or got confused about what to do. I’m sure it caused no end of headaches to the poor clerks in the jury office.

Once I made it to the actual court house, I had to go through a security check. They had told us ahead of time not to bring any knives, guns, or weapons of any kind – but I forgot that I had my pocket knife in my purse so got flagged by the x-ray machine and was sent back outside to dispose of the knife. Rather than throw it away (it has a nice abalone shell handle and was my grandfather’s from way back when) I stashed it in a planter on the front lawn in hopes that it would still be there when my day was over. Thankfully, it was!

In the waiting room, I joined a throng of roughly 300 others waiting to see what the day would bring. We all filled out the required paperwork, listened to the instructions given by the clerk on duty that day, and settled in for the long haul. I brought along my Kindle and some tea, so kept myself occupied well enough, but it wasn’t too long before my name got called and I was sent up to a courtroom to begin the jury selection process.

I was joined by 49 other people, so the room was rather crowded. The Judge welcomed us and introduced the Defendant and his lawyer as well as the State counsel and the police representative charging the Defendant. He explained the process that was about to take place and had immediately excused 5 people from the case. I assume it was because of something they’d written in the paperwork we all filled out down in the waiting room. Then the clerk randomly chose the first 14 people and the selection process began.

They had a microphone that was passed on to whoever was called on to speak so that we all could hear. Each person was asked the same 9 questions to begin with:

     What is your name?
     What is your occupation?
     What is your spouse/children’s name and occupation?
     Where were you born and raised?
     What are your hobbies?
     Have you ever been in court?
     Have you ever served on a jury?
     Is there any reason you should not serve on this jury?
     Do you know any of the participants of this court case?

After each person answered these questions and the judge excused any who didn’t qualify, the lawyers each got up and asked their own questions. The State Counselor was first up since the burden of proof fell on him (the defendant is of course presumed innocent until proven guilty). He was easy going and not at all boring to listen to. His questions were voiced in a hypothetical voice and were easy to understand and therefore easy to answer.

That was not the case with the Defense Counselor: man, he was awful. He kept asking the same question 3-5 times to each person. They would answer him, and he’d say “OK, but do you think…” and then he’d ask that very same question again. They’d answer him again, and he’d say “OK, but do you think…” and then he’d ask that very same question again. It just kept going on and on, to the point where it was agonizingly ridiculous. If I were the Defendant, I’d be very worried.

Throughout all this questioning, we began to see what the case was about, and it was very disturbing to say the least. The Defendant was charged with Attempted Sexual Abuse against a Minor. It was even more disturbing when you take into account the Defendant was perhaps 45-50 years old and the minor in question was only 3.

Because the Defendant’s counsel was taking so long asking the same damn question 5 times for each potential juror (why oh why didn’t the judge put a stop to it?) the selection process took two days. Two days of agony sitting on an uncomfortable bench, listening to the same question over and over again, and waiting for my turn to be called up to the stand.

Finally I did get called and was excused almost immediately. I can’t say I’m sorry about that although this would have been the perfect time for me to serve on a case. Court is held only from 8:30 to 1:30, and since I work part time in the afternoons I wouldn’t have had to miss any hours.

I still have to call in for the remainder of the week, but the odds of having to go back to court are pretty slim. I think I just may be done for the year!