I wonder why I wasn't selected for jury duty today? Was it because I was trying to see through the eyes of the 200+ lb, 6'5" man standing before the other 40 jurors and myself with 9 charges brought against him? Or, maybe it was the look on my face when we were read the crimes aloud; battery, forced burglary, deadly weapon, shooting at an unarmed group of women, on and on with these violent crimes. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life staring through the eyes of this potentially dangerous man, and yet I can't wait to have the chance to do it all over again.
In retrospect, I probably wasn't selected because of my role working for the corporate office of a company that owns and operates prisons throughout the world (we each had to state our profession aloud to the group). However; I can't help but think that those shifty characters on the defendant's team were watching the expressions and behaviorisms of the people that would be dictating the next 10-20 years of this guy's life.
I would love to know what an attorney's point of view is on this.
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Why do you assume the defendant's team was shifty?
ReplyDeleteThat probably has something to do with the reason you were disqualified.
Were you dq'ed by the defense, the state or the judge?
Mary
Hmmm, maybe shifty was the wrong word but the defense attorney was (to me) a shady character, and the defendant definitely wasn't someone I'd ever want to share a meal with...
ReplyDeleteThere were so many of us in the room, I have no idea why the 6 out of 40 were chosen, they didn't provide reasoning. They only had 2 hours with all of us, and they seemed to pick the most outspoken but non-biased individuals out of the bunch.
Defense attorneys play an important role in the system. They are (in my opinion) the front line in protection our civil rights.
ReplyDeleteNon-biased is very important in a juror. You're a wonderful person, but non-biased probably didn't describe you in this situation!
Love you.