Recently, I was drafted to report for jury selection for a criminal trial that involved a father who was charged with child neglect, the most severe charge being a Class A felony making him responsible for physical abuse of his 4 month old daughter, whose many bruises and battery resulted in death. I was reluctant, but looked at the entire situation as not only an opportunity to proactively show my citizenship, but assume this as a divine appointment to which I could be changed in a most significant way. I am grateful to have been chosen. Now that it is behind me, this blog is more detailed on the actual input of the jury of a case rather than the narrative and case per se, so here goes. Stepping Out Is Walking In
We were given instructions and criteria on which to base the jury's process toward the final day of deliberation, which made our job a little easier. And the fact that we had the fellowship of one another,( the required 12 jurors, as well as a 13th juror as extra witness), kept each of us from being overly burdened and always supported, even during disagreements. We were going to step out of a comfort zone and into a place where conflicts were everywhere. An entire week of interviews, listening to witnesses whose clinical studies and researches were tirelessly pointing to both the defense and prosecution polls, caused me a sickening that can't be explained. I literally felt nauseous most of the time. Starting at 8am, sometimes earlier each day, challenged my attention span, self-confidence and level of intellect.
How could I possibly contain something so 'big', and deliberate toward a fair verdict? I asked myself. But we were surrounded by so many services in every required field for establishing viable witnesses to help us along. Law enforcement, forensic scientists, medical professionals, pathologists, radiologists, clinical psychologists, and experts in child protective services, educated us on what is most necessary in delivering a verdict without emotional bias or opinion.
The Case In General ( Intense Descriptives)
The prosecution was stronger in its findings than those of the defense, but I was very impressed by the defense attorney's statements whose job must have been over the top in effort to stay honest without surrendering innocence on behalf of her client. She used sharp examples of how a person can assume what they see to be the truth to uphold doubt of the father being the perpetrater. At one point she used a FedEx label to illustrate that we can see the sign, but not a hidden 'arrow' within the text of the design, which was apparently used to advertise its focused and fast service. It took me awhile to 'see' the arrow, but the abstract illustration was used to contrast a more concrete suggestion. Clever. Without going into too much graphic detail, we had to see photographs that stung us. A baby whose several cranial lacerations and dotted bruises and broken bones was more than anyone could imagine a responsible parent could induce making its severity central focus. As a jury, we knew we had to speak on her behalf as well as other children in the future to minimize such things happening again as prompted by the law. The timelines had to be examined, which made a difference to the decision of death. For instance, what happened between the doctor's appointment where the child was considered healthy, (other than a virus with low grade fever) and the fatal 911 call from her father at around 6:30pm. that night reporting that this little girl had stopped breathing and her temperature was only 94°? The bruises and lacerations were not seen by her pediatrician earlier, so the child's blunt trauma had to have taken place within three to four hours to give time for her temperature to drop.
Questions on why the report was made at the time she stopped breathing and not sooner defused and clouded the defense. It was becoming more and more obvious that the father and mother, though they were together after the doctor's appointment, and even took time to visit with friends before finally going back to their apartment without the filled prescriptions, were both responsible for at least the neglect. The blunt force trauma, however, pointed to the father who indicated he spent the first part of the late afternoon hours alone with the baby. Although he did not testify (nor is required to), his initial statement was incriminating. He told law enforcement that he and the child's mother, alternated taking naps, leaving the baby on the couch for an undetermined amount of time. Once the 911 call was made, the father was instructed to give CPR to the baby, while the initial ambulatory and fire department came with life support to ascerbate the major efforts of reviving the child. Once arriving at the hospital around 7:30 pm, the CPR efforts allowed for the heart beat to return while also being placed on a respirator. This caused her temperature to raise to a normal range for at least the next 3 1/2 days, though her breathing never did. It was clear the child suffered brain death that began on February 5th until she was formally pronounced dead on February 9th.
How Must We Look At This?
In summation, although the attorneys, judge, and bayliff treated us with uncanny honor and respect, the long hours of sitting still and being attentive to every possible element of the trial, put our bodies and minds in a kind of mild paralysis. I was sore all over and my stomach still has not returned to normal. My family said that my demeanor has been quite serious since the trial's final verdict was delivered to the judge, and I am a little afraid I could not stand up to this much pressure again, although I can't swear to it. Should you be called for jury duty, you'll remember that not everyone is nominated, and even fewer elected. It is by law that you must at least show for the draft process, but be honest if you do not think you can give it your best. I would think you should at least try; nothing negative will happen if you do not.
Also, remember that certain cases require a specific chemistry of individuals on one type of trial, while others require a different breed so that you do not take it seriously should you not be selected. There is always a next time. I hope this has helped you in understanding the process as well as some general ideas on what faces a jury in the instance of a criminal law trial.
Photo: Example of Similar jury seating, courtesy of Seattle Weekly: http://www.google.com/imgresimgurl/
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