JURY DUTY:
Jury duty is an obligation that we owe to our communities. My father set the example early on. He was called to serve for a period of time on a couple Federal cases. It was the most fun he had had in his retirement other than going to auctions, buying old motors and stripping them for scrap metal.
He got to drive from Emmett to Boise and for that he got a driving fee as well as the jury duty fee. He would twinkle and say he couldn't say anything about the cases but he said they were beauts! And they were.
Once he was excused he told us all about them. The first case had something to do with a Native American driver of a vehicle and there was either an accident involved or maybe a theft that somehow made it a Federal offense. He related that it was a very complicated trial.
The second case was actually famous. Sean Penn played the part of the the Idaho spy in the movie. I forget the exact title, "The Eagle and the Snowman (maybe)". Dad said that was fairly complicated as well. I think there was a beautiful accomplice and possible a little Stockholm Syndrome involved.
My own jury duty experiences began after I had lived in California and was a registered tax paying voter. I was called for a small trial in the most beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright civic building in the world. We were questioned before being empaneled. The case being tried was a woman who was accused of check forgery. Her alibi was that she was in the hospital visiting her son when the alleged crime took place. Unfortunately the nurse called as a witness testified that she did not remember the mother visiting the son. So, we deliberated, there was some argle bargle and the verdict came back guilty. We learned later that the lady had a record for such, so we didn't feel too badly.
The next duty occurred in Alaska. After you have been a resident, a tax payer AND have received a check from the Dividend fund you are automatically eligible for jury duty. In Barrow, jury duty is for an entire quarter each year. The process was long and boring. All the jurors assembled and names were pulled from a lottery basket. Once the jurors were seated with a couple of spares the vwah duwer began ( I cannot remember how to spell the French words so some smarty pants can step up and interpret.) There was a list of questions that each juror had to answer. Depending on the mood of the lawyer away then went. Most of the natives were excused because they were inevitably related to, knew or worked with the native defendant. If you were having too good of a time, socializing, reading a book, handing out business cards would usually get you bounced from the box. The trials in Barrow were many, mostly due to drunk cases, various kinds of assaults and a surprising number of murders.
I served on several trials; one was a mistrial because the defense did not receive the same reports as the prosecution. Others involved a Korean taxi driver being assaulted by a native passenger. The guy had swung a heavy padlock at the driver's temple. There was a DUII trial that went quickly. Others along the same line.
A friend of mine in Barrow served on a trial that made precedence. It was a case of a citizen versus a local corporation and the charge was murder. This was the first time a corporation was convicted of murder.
Another time I was called for Federal jury duty. The entire North Slope was being used to select jurors for a trial to be held in Nome, Alaska. The first leg of the journey involved a plane trip to Fairbanks. Because Fairbanks was wet, a few jurors got off to participate in the local bar association and did not continue on to Nome. The rest of the legs were to Anchorage then Nome. Accommodations were at the local hotel. The trial was held in the court house just across the street. The trial was kind of a sting operation, a Federal agent posed as a native selling protected species artifacts and someone purchased some polar bear parts, the trial began the next day.
I was briefly empaneled and the list of questions included did I have bumper stickers. I read off the list of standard responses and added "...no bumper stickers, no bumpers..." which got a laugh and I knew from experience that lawyers do NOT like jurors to have a good time. And I was excused. The set up was interesting, The court brought people to make out checks for all the jurors who were excused to pay the fee. Flight and hotel were paid for. And I had the added bonus that I was never going to EVER serve on another Federal case.
I was actually sitting in the jury box on the last day I was in Barrow, I was scheduled to leave the next day. Fortunately I was excused.
I moved to Oregon and a couple of years before I retired I was called to jury duty here. The operation was very slick; show up, watch a film, get brief orientation, get your number called, go sit in whatever courtroom you were assigned. I was not selected and got a day off. Yay!
If I had ever had the opportunity I think I would have enjoyed the job of court recorder. I liked the idea of using those odd looking shorthand typing machines and the judges were always very solicitous of the court secretaries. Yeah.
Jury duty is an obligation that we owe to our communities. My father set the example early on. He was called to serve for a period of time on a couple Federal cases. It was the most fun he had had in his retirement other than going to auctions, buying old motors and stripping them for scrap metal.
He got to drive from Emmett to Boise and for that he got a driving fee as well as the jury duty fee. He would twinkle and say he couldn't say anything about the cases but he said they were beauts! And they were.
Once he was excused he told us all about them. The first case had something to do with a Native American driver of a vehicle and there was either an accident involved or maybe a theft that somehow made it a Federal offense. He related that it was a very complicated trial.
The second case was actually famous. Sean Penn played the part of the the Idaho spy in the movie. I forget the exact title, "The Eagle and the Snowman (maybe)". Dad said that was fairly complicated as well. I think there was a beautiful accomplice and possible a little Stockholm Syndrome involved.
My own jury duty experiences began after I had lived in California and was a registered tax paying voter. I was called for a small trial in the most beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright civic building in the world. We were questioned before being empaneled. The case being tried was a woman who was accused of check forgery. Her alibi was that she was in the hospital visiting her son when the alleged crime took place. Unfortunately the nurse called as a witness testified that she did not remember the mother visiting the son. So, we deliberated, there was some argle bargle and the verdict came back guilty. We learned later that the lady had a record for such, so we didn't feel too badly.
The next duty occurred in Alaska. After you have been a resident, a tax payer AND have received a check from the Dividend fund you are automatically eligible for jury duty. In Barrow, jury duty is for an entire quarter each year. The process was long and boring. All the jurors assembled and names were pulled from a lottery basket. Once the jurors were seated with a couple of spares the vwah duwer began ( I cannot remember how to spell the French words so some smarty pants can step up and interpret.) There was a list of questions that each juror had to answer. Depending on the mood of the lawyer away then went. Most of the natives were excused because they were inevitably related to, knew or worked with the native defendant. If you were having too good of a time, socializing, reading a book, handing out business cards would usually get you bounced from the box. The trials in Barrow were many, mostly due to drunk cases, various kinds of assaults and a surprising number of murders.
I served on several trials; one was a mistrial because the defense did not receive the same reports as the prosecution. Others involved a Korean taxi driver being assaulted by a native passenger. The guy had swung a heavy padlock at the driver's temple. There was a DUII trial that went quickly. Others along the same line.
A friend of mine in Barrow served on a trial that made precedence. It was a case of a citizen versus a local corporation and the charge was murder. This was the first time a corporation was convicted of murder.
Another time I was called for Federal jury duty. The entire North Slope was being used to select jurors for a trial to be held in Nome, Alaska. The first leg of the journey involved a plane trip to Fairbanks. Because Fairbanks was wet, a few jurors got off to participate in the local bar association and did not continue on to Nome. The rest of the legs were to Anchorage then Nome. Accommodations were at the local hotel. The trial was held in the court house just across the street. The trial was kind of a sting operation, a Federal agent posed as a native selling protected species artifacts and someone purchased some polar bear parts, the trial began the next day.
I was briefly empaneled and the list of questions included did I have bumper stickers. I read off the list of standard responses and added "...no bumper stickers, no bumpers..." which got a laugh and I knew from experience that lawyers do NOT like jurors to have a good time. And I was excused. The set up was interesting, The court brought people to make out checks for all the jurors who were excused to pay the fee. Flight and hotel were paid for. And I had the added bonus that I was never going to EVER serve on another Federal case.
I was actually sitting in the jury box on the last day I was in Barrow, I was scheduled to leave the next day. Fortunately I was excused.
I moved to Oregon and a couple of years before I retired I was called to jury duty here. The operation was very slick; show up, watch a film, get brief orientation, get your number called, go sit in whatever courtroom you were assigned. I was not selected and got a day off. Yay!
If I had ever had the opportunity I think I would have enjoyed the job of court recorder. I liked the idea of using those odd looking shorthand typing machines and the judges were always very solicitous of the court secretaries. Yeah.
1 comment:
"Falcon and the Snowman"
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