Thursday, July 30

The Case III: Judgment Day

Back by popular demand. For those of you looking for closure on this anecdote.

As you recall, this was a trial for two counts of second degree murder, gang related. The prosecution presented several pieces of evidence that, taken together, could point toward the defendant as the shooter. But, there really was no direct evidence, literally no smoking gun that directly implicated the defendant.

We got the case given to us on a Wednesday afternoon. The judge reads through the detailed instructions about how to deliberate. Now remember, there were a total of 15 jurors selected, with three being alternates. Those alternates do not take part in the jury deliberations. But, the catch is, they don’t designate the alternates at the beginning of the trial! Three random numbers were drawn before the jury was excused from the courtroom. Those lucky three had the pleasure of sitting through the entire trial, hearing all the evidence, not being able to discuss anything about the case, and then being sent home without any further input. Gee, that last five weeks wasn’t a waste of time.

First order of business is, of course, choosing the foreperson. Throughout the trial, I had thought about that. I was quite willing to offer my services in that capacity. Since there was no one else chomping at the bit, I volunteered and got the assignment. Frankly, I felt like it made sense. I tend to be a good facilitator and I like everyone to participate and have an equal voice.

The jury has a tremendous amount of discretion for how it undertakes its deliberations. Essentially, we set our own schedule. But, deliberations can only take place when every member is in the room. And, we must tell the bailiff any time we start and stop deliberations for any period of time, including lunch break. Everyone in the court is basically sitting around on pins and needles, their fate hanging on our decision. So we began by going over some basic housekeeping details. By then it was near the 4pm cutoff for the day.

So we began our discussions in earnest on Thursday. We spent the day going through each witness’ testimony and trying to judge the general trustworthyness and credibility, as well as pick out any specific facts about the case that we could all agree to. We did not finish covering everyone that first day. By happenstance, the following week was scheduled to be no court. So oddly enough, we took an entire week off from deliberating. Hey, no rush. Not like anyone’s life hangs in the balance.

Get to the point!

Okay, okay. We return the following following Monday. Finish up our discussion of all the witnesses. Then we talk about where we are all at. When we do an initial poll, there are only two guilty votes. The rest are not guilty or not sure but leaning that way. I’ll admit, I was one of the guilty votes. Big surprise. But I was genuinely interested in the perspective of those leaning toward not guilty. And the reasoning was fairly universal. The biggest concern was the lack of something, anything, that can at least put the defendant in the car. That, plus the defense arguing a plausible alternative scenario that puts the driver as the shooter. In the end, those were two big hurdles too big to hurdle over.

The vote: Not Guilty on all counts.

Not to say innocent. There’s a very important distinction. The majority of us felt that in all probability he was more likely than not the shooter. There was a definite sense of frustration that we did not have more evidence we could work with. There was some discussion as to whether that was the fault of poor police work, but I think this was one of those cases where the evidence was just not there. The prosecution did the best with what it had. But, when you are dealing with a rigorous standard of guilt beyond all reasonable doubt, it makes it extremely difficult when you don’t have some direct evidence that can conclusively point to the defendant. In light of these circumstances, I was satisfied that we reached the proper conclusion.

Epilogue: What we didn’t know

Once the verdict is read in court, the judge excuses the jury and we are free to go with no restrictions on discussing the case with anyone. As part of the trial process, the attorneys for both sides often talk with the jurors afterwards to get some insights as to how the trial was presented. Sort of like an evaluation. We expressed our reservations about the lack of direct evidence.

Well, here’s what we found out. This trial was actually the second time around for this case. The first trial took place last fall and resulted in a hung jury. I wasn’t surprised. It actually made sense. It also tended to reinforce for me that we were right in acquitting. Then the state attorney asks us if it would have made a difference if we had known that the defendant had previously been charged with making threats to rival gang members by brandishing a gun. You know, kind of exactly like he was accused of doing in this case. Yeah, might have been helpful for us to know that. Certainly would have made for some interesting deliberations. Such is the nature of the law. You don’t always get to know everything up front when you make your decision.

So we will leave the rest to karma, cosmic justice, what have you. That pretty much wrapped it up for me. I headed home on the light rail. Back to life, back to reality, back to the here and now.

That’s my story. Hope it was reasonably entertaining. I won’t have any more jury stories for at least 24 months.

Sunday, July 26

Henry Louis Gates Jr.- Harvard Scholar,... Really?

Maybe it's just me,... but on the very few occasions when I have been approached by a Police Officer, I have tried to extend the courtesy of calmness and respect. My perception is that every day Cops walk into the middle of volatile situations. Just a little bit of Reality TV will show you that these Officers have to make difficult decisions instantly, often in wildcard scenarios.

I'm no Harvard Scholar, but if a Cop asks me for my ID, I don't argue with him. I just show it to him. I trust that he is serving the greater good for our community. I believe this courtesy has served me well over the years and has made my seldom and brief interactions with the Law generally enjoyable.

... and by the way Mr. President. If you are blithely unaware of the facts in a situation, you might consider keeping "mum"... otherwise you may come off as "acting stupidly".

You are, after all... a Harvard Scholar.
-e

Thursday, July 23

There are Limits to Multiculturalism

Sadly, a very horrific crime took place in the Phoenix area this week.
I caution, this is rough.

via KFYI

Four Boys Charged in 8-Year-Old Girl's Rape
PHOENIX (AP) – Maricopa County authorities say four boys ages 9 to 14 have been charged in the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl whom they had lured to an empty storage shed with chewing gum.
...
Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill says the boys held the girl down while they took turns sexually assaulting her.
...
All the children are refugees from the West African nation of Liberia.


But wait, it gets much worse.

via AZCentral

...Police said the girl's parents criticized her after the violence, blaming her for bringing shame on the family. All five children are refugees from the West African nation of Liberia.
...
Authorities said the victim was in the care of Child Protective Services after her parents blamed her for the rapes and bringing shame to the family.

“The father told the case worker and an officer in her presence that he didn't want her back. He said Take her, I don't want her,'” Hill said.

Hill cited the family's background as the reason the family shunned the girl.

In many parts of Africa, women often are blamed for being raped for “enticing” men or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Girls who are raped often are shunned by their families.


You read that right. I wish I could say this was an abberation, but unfortunately it is very common in many parts of the world, particularly Africa and the Middle East. When women are victims of rape and sexual assault, they are held responsible and punished. Oftentimes they are murdered by their own families in what is called an "honor killing."

As difficult as this young girl's life will be in the custody of Child Protective Services, clearly she is not safe anymore with her family.

Allow me to step outside the civilized bounds of Political Correctness, but this is wrong. And any society or culture that condones such abhorrent treatment of women and girls is inferior.

Am I off base here?
I yield back the soapbox.

The Random Rocky Picture of the Day*


You KNOW I look good!



Photo shoot outtakes



*Not a daily feature

Sunday, July 12

Let's Make Fun of California

California: The Pyrite State
Motto: Eureka!, We Lost It!
State Bird: Don't know, but whatever it is, it's flown the coop
State Flower: the Blooming Idiot
Population: Guarantee you it's higher than the number of citizens
Chief export: Productivity

Hey, come on. The government (aka your intellectual superiors and overlords) are working hard and taking this problem very seriously.

How seriously? This seriously!
After all, California has a reputation for fiscal discipline and wise spending.

Seriously man, we just need a couple of bucks until the end of the month. You know we're totally good for it: California Prepares to Issue Promissory Notes

Hmmm, always read the fine print: California begins issuing IOUs … to the peons

Duh doh: Big Banks Don't Want California IOUs via HotAir

California legislature's response: Hey, at least we aren't New York.

Really, couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people.

What's that? What you mean people in glass houses?
Yeah, you have a point. But really, it's all too schadenfreudelicious to resist.