jury duty part 4 - Deliberation and verdict

Friday morning we started at 9:30 and got into the court-room at 10:00. The judge read to us the laws that applied to the case and gave us notes along with the verdict forms. He then dismissed our #13 alternate juror and we headed back to the jury room and started our debate by choosing a foreman. One interesting note was the we had an ace in the hole. Despite not having any crime scene photos or even a good map - we still had a clear view of things since one of the jurors had lived in that area and knew a lot about gangs. He was an engineer and world traveler, but had his start in that same rough area of town. Very helpful to fill in some gaps.

First count - aggravated robbery. This was our most difficult one since the rest of the case pretty much hinged on this point. The defense tried to make us focus on the defendant having passed the gun to the actual robber and how suspect that action was, but we focused on the law and the complicity of his actions. I tried to demonstrate how the victim could have known about the passing of the gun without actually seeing it based on body language and movement, but ultimately it wasn't our focus. We voted the first time on this one and came up with 7 guilty, 2 not guilty and 3 undecided. After more discussion and focus on the law, the rest were convinced and we were unanimous on the second vote. There was a gun stipulation that was also a sticking point - we weren't sure if he actually had the gun to start with since there was only one witness. The law stated though that he merely needed close access to it. Which he had since he was in the same car and in the front seat - even if the victim hadn't seen the defendant with the gun it was pretty clear. Also, the defense hadn't ever tried to disprove his client having a gun - instead trying to focus on the "2-gun" theory.

We broke for lunch in there at some point and I headed back to campus for sweet and sour chicken again and got another fortune cookie.

"Soon you will be sitting on top of the world"

I stopped by work and talked to several people, the got back to the jury room with 15 minutes to spare. One of the jurors was late getting back and we speculated on what would happen since our alternate was gone. He showed up out of breath and apologized - and we got back into it.

The second count was for possession of a gun with disability - meaning that he had a conviction with a gun charge from before and wasn't allowed to have a gun again. The same gun rules applied from before and this time we did a hands up vote. There was some discussion on this again before the vote for clarity, but I thought it was pretty clear.

The final count was criminal gang activity. The prosecution really laid this out for us. They showed gang existence, activity, and membership in the gang - along with a direct tie to the defendant. It was the one area we were all very clear on even before we started the discussion - this guy was still in and an active member of a gang. The rest was his involvement in a criminal act - which we'd already covered.

So, we did out final vote and filled out and signed the verdict forms. We called for the bailiff and she checked on us and gave us some final instructions before she brought the court back together. After a bit, we headed back into the court room and gave the forms to the bailiff and then the judge to be read aloud. I didn't look at the defendant - thinking it would be a little too aggressive and rude - I also didn't want to be singled out for some kind of gang retribution. The judge thanked us and we headed out. On the way out, one of the other jurors said he looked at the defendant and saw an "oh well" eye-roll when the verdict was read. Which made me feel a little better. This guy had been in and out of jail and was guilty here and resigned to it. Even the defense didn't seem very surprised.

So, that was the jury experience. It was a tiring experience and stressful since we were deciding a person's fate. Everyone in the jury was cool - including a couple that initially disagree with the decision and brought a fresh perspective to things. The judge was pretty cool - and not as formal as I would have thought. The bailiff was awesome - really well organized and really sharp. She had a good sense of humor and really liked the origami jury I made while I was waiting.

The defense guy did as good of a job as he could - but it was clear from his body language and his approach to the case that he believed his client was guilty and tried to confuse the issue. The prosecution was really sharp and covered all the bases.

Next week I'll be back to work and excused from jury duty for the next 12 months. I'm glad I did my "civic duty" but also glad that I'm done with it for a while.