Jury duty is a journey you will not soon forget, assuming you make it to the jury box. In today’s culture of civic duty avoidance, perhaps we should not assume. Not you, of course, would seek a courtroom exit door as job one. But the parade of the unwilling, unable and utterly fabricated excuses judges must sort through in voir dire is a story in itself.
Truth Telling
Pardon my French, but that term for selecting jurors and most commonly heard on TV courtroom dramas has significance. “To speak the truth” refers to jurors being part of the truth-telling process when it comes to guilt and innocence in reaching a verdict. Ironically, a parade of prospective jurors never get to hear the truth… because they aren’t telling it in the first place during voir dire.
We’re not talking about most, but many citizens randomly selected for a jury pool will verbally swim upstream as long as necessary to hear the judge say, “dismissed.” We witnessed some Olympic-level swimming.
Random Jury First-Up
At the Mecklenburg County Courthouse in Uptown Charlotte, those summoned to jury duty assemble in an ultra-comfortable Jury Suite, complete with recliners, movies, even popcorn. The entertainment ends when the jury pool begins. Ours was a diverse group of thirty-one citizens marching single file to a Superior Court felony trial voir dire. Twelve of those, again randomly, were called to the jury box. And the effort to achieve exodus began.
Are You Impartial?
First the prosecution and then defense attorneys quizzed each juror about availability, personal circumstances, and willingness to be “fair and impartial” in what would be a multi-day larceny trial. A few were not equipped for this task. With a couple of others, including a former police officer, they were thanked and sent home.
Truth or Dare
Those pleading their case to not serve included a self-employed psychologist tending to suicidal clientele – who may call at any time. The psychologist had just returned from a lengthy vacation. Another was in a child custody dispute and could not concentrate on testimony and evidence. One was taking new medication, and the effects were unknown at that time. Yet another told of a holdup her spouse had to endure years ago. “There’s no gun or violence in this case ma’am,” said the judge. Something about the defendant’s appearance sitting across the room though would not allow for impartiality. All these eventually passed under the neon EXIT sign and out of any further jury obligation.
Eventually the pool of thirty-one was too small to produce twelve jurors and two alternates. Those already seated on the final jury were sent home until the next day. A new pool was called in late afternoon and the jury instruction and selection process started over.
Judge to Jury
Later, after the trial, the judge privately spoke candidly with the jury that rendered a verdict. When asked, he said he was more thankful for willing jurors than displeased with those wiggling out. But his honor says when he senses someone gaming the system… get ready for a long and detailed voir dire discussion with the judge in open court. We can validate that as truth.
Next: The Trial
