{"id":328,"date":"2012-08-28T19:03:58","date_gmt":"2012-08-29T01:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/?p=328"},"modified":"2012-09-30T14:38:50","modified_gmt":"2012-09-30T20:38:50","slug":"secret-thoughts-from-the-jury-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/?p=328","title":{"rendered":"Secret thoughts from the jury panel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Forty people shuffle into the courtroom.\u00a0 They take assigned seats, which correspond to their names on a diagram.\u00a0 They look serious and a little intimidated.<\/p>\n

Voir dire begins \u2013 the question-and-answer process by which the biases and beliefs of these potential jurors will be disclosed, and a jury of 12 members and two alternates will be selected to decide the fate of another human being.<\/p>\n

The judge introduces himself, the attorneys, and the defendant.\u00a0 This is a criminal trial, he says.\u00a0 The defendant is accused of possession of heroin.<\/p>\n

The defendant is a small, middle-aged man whose blank facial expression does not change.\u00a0 He looks slightly shabby in nondescript slacks and a flannel shirt.<\/p>\n

The judge asks questions first.\u00a0\u00a0 Do any of you know the defendant, he says, or me, or any of the attorneys, or the District Attorney for whom the prosecuting attorneys work?\u00a0 I\u2019m the first to raise a hand.\u00a0 I know with the District Attorney, not well.\u00a0 Well enough to influence my decision?\u00a0 No, Your Honor. The judge asks about the jurors\u2019 schedules and potential time conflicts.<\/p>\n

The prosecutor asks questions.\u00a0 How do you feel about the drug laws? \u00a0Are they too strict or not strict enough? \u00a0Marijuana should be legalized, someone says.\u00a0 Another says the drug laws should be stricter.\u00a0 A woman identifies herself as a nurse, and says she has seen the horrors of drug abuse in emergency rooms.\u00a0 Stricter, she says.\u00a0 Another nurse says she sees drug addict babies born.\u00a0 They start life with no chance, she says. \u00a0A man says he was a meth addict.\u00a0 Stricter, he says.\u00a0 I wonder if everyone is as shocked as I that he would volunteer this.<\/p>\n

We are asked whether we feel differently about drug possession compared to trafficking.\u00a0 I raise my hand.\u00a0 The system we have isn\u2019t working, I say.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the right solution but maybe if marijuana is decriminalized there would be less abuse of other drugs. \u00a0\u00a0Drug addicts may be criminals, I say, but may also be victims. I\u2019m thinking, what chance in life did this man have?<\/p>\n

We are asked whether we know a certain street corner.\u00a0 I surmise this is where the defendant was arrested.\u00a0 We are asked whether we regard police officers as more or less credible than other witnesses.\u00a0 Some people trust the police more.\u00a0 One person says he was unfairly arrested and he doesn\u2019t trust police at all.<\/p>\n

The defense attorneys take their turn.\u00a0 They are from the public defender\u2019s office \u2013 no surprise. This defendant couldn\u2019t afford a private attorney.\u00a0 They explain the standard of reasonable doubt and the prosecution\u2019s burden to prove its case.\u00a0 They ask our views. \u00a0They talk about the defendant\u2019s right to remain silent.\u00a0 If he doesn\u2019t testify, will we assume he\u2019s guilty? \u00a0Maybe that\u2019s their plan:\u00a0 \u00a0just claim the prosecution failed to prove its case.<\/p>\n

I wonder what actually (whoops \u2013 allegedly)\u00a0 happened.\u00a0 What did this man do? Was it evil, or stupid, or unlucky? \u00a0Is he a drug addict?\u00a0 If he\u2019s found guilty will he be sent to prison?\u00a0 Someone has mentioned that prison is a luxury for criminals at the taxpayers\u2019 expense \u2013 good food, cable TV, the best health care.\u00a0 I\u2019m not so sure about that.<\/p>\n

Prison locks criminals away so the public is protected from them. \u00a0Beyond that, \u00a0\u00a0I \u00a0don\u2019t have much faith in prison\u2019s ability to rehabilitate.\u00a0 More often, I think, it throws human beings away, and the rest of us pay for it.\u00a0 \u00a0How am I better off this man goes to prison?\u00a0 Jurors are not supposed to consider this.<\/p>\n

I remember a very old joke \u2013 too politically incorrect for today\u2019s sensibilities \u2013 about what you call a man in a three-piece suit. \u00a0Answer:\u00a0 the defendant. I chastise myself for being irreverent.\u00a0 I don\u2019t tell anybody.<\/p>\n

After a break, the whole panel is dismissed \u2013 perhaps a last minute plea bargain.\u00a0 I won\u2019t find out any more.<\/p>\n

Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2012<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Forty people shuffle into the courtroom.\u00a0 They take assigned seats, which correspond to their names on a diagram.\u00a0 They look serious and a little intimidated. Voir dire begins \u2013 the question-and-answer process by which the biases and beliefs of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=328"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":347,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions\/347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}