On May 20th, I got this little beauty in the mail~
I've been summoned! #noexcusesthistime #sincewhendotheyonlygiveoneweeknotice
I've received several jury summons in the mail during the course of my married life (funny, I never remember Matt getting a single one....) but they always seem to come right before I'm about to have a baby so I always am able to get out of it. For whatever reason, this time, I was really intrigued to see what the process was all about, so I made arrangement for the kids for the day and off I headed to the courthouse in Florence.
I had no idea what to expect. I checked in, then sat in a room with hundreds of other people. They showed an orientation video then explained they had three trials to select juries for. They called names and we went with our group up into the courtroom. The judge randomly called names to fill the spots in the box, then briefed us on what the case was, the charges being brought against the defendant and the anticipated length of the trial. Next, he asked "screening" questions of all the prospective jurors, people were dismissed, we stood and gave a little background about ourselves. We were then excused for lunch. After the break, we were brought back into the courtroom and the jurors were selected, 12 total. I ended up being chosen! From that point on, we had to go everywhere together as a group, escorted by the bailiff. We weren't allowed to discuss ANY aspect of the case, with ANYone, including the other jurors.
My cute little accessory for the next three days! #firsttimer #ofcourseigotpicked #mylipsaresealed
The crime was committed over 3 years ago (!!!) and the defendant was being charged for burglary in the first degree and for being in possession of burglary tools. Items were stolen from a bank owned property. It was a very mild case. I can't imagine serving on a jury where there is abuse or death involved. That would be absolutely emotionally draining!
I was there all day Tuesday, half days Wednesday and Thursday, then all day Friday. Friends and family were kind enough to help watch the kids. It was a lot of in and out of the courtroom. We'd listen to testimony, take notes, have a break, come back in, do more of the same, take another break, etc. It was intriguing to watch how the prosecuting attorneys presented their case against the defendant. The defense attorney objected over and over and over again, which at some point, got a little ridiculous and I had to resist the urge to laugh out loud. A couple of us started keeping tally of his objections. And the other weirdest thing was that the defendant had an IDENTICAL twin brother that sat in the audience during the whole trial! Freaked me out!
Day 4 of trial, supposed to be over today. #fingerscrossed #juryduty #dontaskcanttell
All the evidence and the testimony made it pretty clear that this guy was completely guilty. He admitted to driving the truck the night in question, he had ALL the items missing from the home in the truck, but claimed that he "found" the items lying by the side of the road and assumed they were left as trash. HOWEVER, according to the law, you must be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the person is guilty in order to convict them. I was anxious to be able to FINALLY deliberate with the other jurors and talk this thing out. Then I got randomly selected as an alternate, which means I did NOT get to participate in the final deliberation or have any say in the verdict. Poo! What a huge disappointment after investing all that time and energy!!!!! The other alternate juror and I decided to sit and wait, hoping that they would reach a verdict by the end of the day. We chatted in the lobby until the bailiff called down and said we could come back in for the reading of the verdict.
The jury found the defendant NOT GUILTY of the burglary, but GUILTY of possession of burglary tools. There just was not enough evidence (footprints, fingerprints) to prove that it was HIM that broke into the house and/or HIM that took the items. We (jurors) were able to chat with the defense attorney and the detective over the case afterward and we learned a LOT more info and backstory that was not shared that would have made things more clear. Even the defense attorney said the guy was guilty as heck. But that's the process!
It was really hard on the kids, my being gone for four days and being shuffled among different people. Made me realize that maybe it does make a difference that I'm able to stay home at with them on a daily basis! I don't know how moms do it, the ones that have to work all day, then come home and prep dinner and have enough time to spend with their children. Definitely gave me perspective!
Then the reward~ $12/day plus mileage. Cha-ching! Haha!
Payday!!! #mommagetsapaycheck #jurydutyperks #letsgoshopping
It was a great experience and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to see how the judicial system works. I'm off the hook for 2 years now, but will look forward to the next chance I get!
