Would you mind having some birthers/tenthers/baggers on the jury at your murder trial?

[moondust]

People who watch a lot of Fox News. (Probably a lot of them in Georgia.)

Let's say you didn't kill anybody but you're being tried for murder anyway.

Any objections?

[Generic Brad]

1. Aren't we supposed to be tried by a jury of our peers?

Those people are not my peers.

[moondust]

2. In theory, yes.

I'm not familiar enough with the courts to know how narrowly or broadly "peers" is interpreted or how much it may differ from place to place.

[Kennah]

3. Scared to death of such a prospect

I served on jury duty in 2006. Didn't make it onto the jury, but it was a fascinating journey for many reasons.

Even very left of center coworkers offered up the advice, "Remember that they are all guilty." Most Americans are Angry Men and Women straight out of a Reginald Rose play.

There was one guy in particular who stuck in my head. He was a Tea Bagger before there was a Tea Bagger Movement.

The judge offered what was effectively a "Get Out Of This Jury Pool" card totally free of charge. I don't recall exactly what she said, but it was words to the effect of, "If for any reason, you do not think that you could be impartial, come and talk with him." There were some that she did, for all intents and purposes, just let go from the pool because they expressed words to the effect of, "I just don't think I could be impartial." Some added on reasons why, and most of them seemed genuine.

The Tea Bagger remained vigilant, but the Defense Counsel asked him point blank, "You wouldn't want someone going free because of some Constitutional technicality?" The Tea Bagger responded, "That's right." During preemptory challenges, he was bounced, but it was obvious he was going to force the Defense Counsel to use a preemptory challenge to get rid of him.

It got a little surreal as we got down to about 18 or 19 people remaining, I was seated in the pool, and the Prosecutor bounced me. They apparently did NOT want me on their jury.

I learned a lot, in particular I learned how to game the system, what to say and not to say, how much or how little to say, to try and maximize the odds of making it onto a jury.

I know, that if I made it onto a jury, and I was the lone holdout for innocence, I'm a sufficient determined motherfucker that I would not be bullied into compliance as I deliberated. If 11 people couldn't overcome what I perceived to be reasonable doubt, then either I would swing 11 people my way or I'd hang the jury.

[moondust]

5. Did you have long hair or something?

Wearing hippie clothes? Why do you think the prosecutor bounced you?

I'd be a stalwart as well but no doubt some people would figure "how can they all be wrong?" and join the others.

[Kennah]

6. I think I misjudged how much to say, but no long hair.

I wore a suit and tie the first day. Once I saw people for jury duty, I realized I'd overdressed in Seattle. I stepped down to business casual attire after that. I shaved, but kept my mustache and goatee, and also wore my ear ring. Once I ditched the suit, I think I dressed fairly nondescript and blended in pretty well. There were people who were dressed much flashier, or looked more the hippie, or guys with 5 or 6 earrings, or people with facial piercings, or interesting colored hair.

I remember this one other guy in particular from the jury pool, and I think he might have been hitting on me at one point, who was very nicely dressed, clean shaven, and overall very low key and quiet. Listening to him speak, I thought he was very smart, he tried not to say more than he had to say, but it was clear listening to him that he like I was more sympathetic to the rights of people than with hanging someone.

It became clear that the attorneys were going to draw you out to speak, and if you didn't they were going to focus on you and drill into you. There's a balance of saying enough, but not too much, and I suspect I said too much.

Prosecution threw out some hypotheticals at one point about expert testimony, and I answered something to the effect of taking people at their word until I thought I was being lied to or misled. He asked for a number, and I said once is a mistake, twice can happen, but by the time I get lied to three times your credibility is shot. He responded, "So you believe in three strikes and you're out." When he said that, people laughed, and I thought this guy thinks I'm on his side so the prosecution will want me.

Actually, I think the Defense Counsel may have caused the most harm. She asked me several questions that really drew out my perceived sympathies.

The case was pretty rough. Jury pool was for 120 jurors. When they announced 120 jurors, people looked around with a WTF look. One woman asked me why so many, and I said, "I'm guessing it's sexual, it involves kids, and it's bad." I was right on all counts. It was a Sexually Violent Predator civil commitment.

There were a LOT of questions, very personal questions, drilling into sexual abuse that we were given in the juror questionnaire. Having been a victim of sexual abuse as a kid in Boy Scouts, and having a relative who was a victim as well, my brother, I suspect I might have been "Red Flagged" by both the Prosecution and the Defense Counsel from the answers in my questionnaire. Separate and apart from the jury proceeding, that hit me hard like a hammer to the chest; however, it was very cathartic. It had been decades since my abuse and it gave me a chance to be able to be comfortable and, if necessary, to at least acknowledge it in a public forum.

Maybe, when I first spoke, the Defense Counsel zeroed in on me and thought, "This guy is smart, and he'll never make it onto the jury, but I can use him to drum up sympathy."

The thing that I was most concerned about, which I thought would draw fire, was my gun. I have a Concealed Pistol License, and in Washington we can carry to court. They provide a lockbox to secure it, so I did. It was mostly a non-event. They look at your ID and License, a Deputy or Security Officer walks you down the hall to the lockbox room, and you lock up your gun. The Deputy told me, "Be sure to take off your holster. If you walk around the jury room with a holster on, someone is going to freak out." I told him, "No problem. Good advice."

[WhoIsNumberNone]

4. Hmmm. People who fantasize about killing liberals holding my life in their hands...

That's a tough one.