The past three days I have been serving as a juror in a criminal case involving the sale and distribution of cocaine. The defendant was arrested last September, along with his buyer. No big time dealer was implicated in this arrest, as far as I know.
The two men caught in this crime were captured by surveillance in a sting operation that involved a drug task force. The purchase of the cocaine was successfully executed by an undercover cop and involved an informant who was a relative and was probably cooperating for a reason. Several sales were made, the last one being four ounces. The two men were both Hispanic, one legal and one 18-years-illegal; one in jail and one out on bail, one who spoke perfect English and one who needed a translator.
I had the "honor" of being the oldest juror to be *impaneled. It was the most interesting three days I have spent all summer. I was initially selected out of a group of around 200, and then I was selected randomly from that group of 40. Then I survived the elimination of half a dozen or so jurors for one reason or another: breastfeeding, friend of a cop or facing a DUI charge. And then when our panel was reduced from 14 to 12. I was once again left to be one of the chosen 12.
In a few years I will have a choice to opt out of jury duty, so it is likely that this is the first and last time I will ever serve in this capacity. While I found myself crossing my fingers (at least mentally) to not be chosen, now I am glad to have had the experience. I will be rewarded with $115 or so plus some mileage for the three partial (but not half) days. (I actually received only $102.41 total).
The first day I had to be in court at 7:45 AM. Not sure of the bus and parking arrangements, I arrived early. I had to get up at 6 AM the first day and around 7 AM the second and third day--which was pretty early for me!
There is so much I could say about this case: the amusing antics of the defense attorney, the defendant's alibi that almost seemed to me to be reasonable doubt when he apparently lied on the stand that he was selling his teal and silver 1992 Ford Ranger for $3,300, not cocaine--and how after 2 days of commitment to complete silence about the case (even to spouse), the jurors were relieved to finally spill their thoughts on the case during our deliberations, although no one at that point doubted the evidence that the prosecutor had put forward. The 3 elements of the 3 charges were soon voted on unanimously, with a guilty verdict.
All of the cocaine purchased by the undercover officer was available in plastic evidence bags for us to look at if we chose. We did view the copies of the money involved, but didn't ask to personally view the bags of cocaine!
At one point I volunteered that I needed a break for some Coke, and a few of the jurors laughed at me! (Diet Coke Zero was available for $1.75 in the vending machine).
*also empaneled!
One doesn't usually think of jury duty as a good time, but it sounds like this was an interesting way to pass a few days. I too enjoyed my jury duty when I had it 7 years ago, but, alas, I was selected as an alternate so I wasn't able to participate in deliberations. My vote would have been guilty, which was my fellow jurors' verdict.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all of the jurors seemed to enjoy the experience. One juror, a state-wide organizer for the Trump campaign, a little intense and on his phone at every break, probably would have opted out. And another, when asked whether she would rather be on this jury or have a root canal, responded that she would rather have a root canal!
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