The Midlife

Guess what I did over my staycation? I served as Juror #6 on a one-day criminal trial. What follows is a reflection of my experience and a bit of a primer for anyone who is summoned in the future and wishes to know what to expect.

Let me begin by stating that I had been summoned one other time for jury duty many years ago and was excused well in advance. Since I have always been intrigued with courtroom dramas and whether they match up to real life experience, I responded yes with my recent summons request.

My late uncle served as a lawyer in Cuba and my paternal grandfather was a judge. Perhaps that has informed my intrigue of the law. I could never be a lawyer; it would take me too long to ‘land the plane’ in explaining my case. Although, I do enjoy the crisp professional look of a suit. But I digress.

I was excited about reporting to jury duty, despite it being on a vacation day. I arrived at 8:30 am and was ushered into a large room with a theater-style set-up. After someone official entered and reminded us to sign in and collect a $30 stipend, I did what I was told. After waiting for about 90 minutes to be called initially to be assigned to one of three cases of the day, I was given a number. No. 6. Our case was called and 40 of us filed in for questioning. We were asked a series of yes or no questions, totaling 30, which would determine whether we could impartially serve on the assigned case. The case concerned a person charged with driving under the influence and driving while impaired. (Out of respect for the person’s privacy, I won’t share more specifics, although after you serve you can share whatever you want, without penalty.)

Two hours later, it is lunch time and a jury has been selected, including yours truly, plus one alternate juror, in the event the trial exceeds one day and one of the jurors is out. After a one-hour lunch break, the court reconvened and the meat and potatoes of it all would begin.

After my vending machine lunch due to the court cafe’s closure, the jurors and bailiff met in a deliberation room, which looked like a small boardroom, with a small coffee and tea station.

Our bailiff was very clear and explained every detail and answered any questions, which was pretty cool considering all of us except one person had never served on a jury before. We were given small individual writing pads and a pen dispensed in individual manila envelopes with our juror numbers listed on the front. Once we entered the courtroom, we were no longer identified by name, only number. When it came time to enter the courtroom, there was a bit of a ceremonious and orderly entry into the courtroom, wherein we lined up by descending number and filed into our seats in two rows.

Our judge reminded me so much of the late Malcolm Jamal-Warner with a friendly, yet commanding voice. He genuinely seemed so appreciative of us being there; it was a very pleasant surprise. First we heard from the prosecution, including the presenting of many exhibits of evidence including a couple of time-stamped 911 calls and police body-cam footage of the event, which brought back so many fond memories of me watching the show Cops (IYKYK). There were three witnesses, some cross-examination by the defense, followed by a short recess due to some technical difficulties which resulted in us having to switch court rooms.

When there was a recess, we had to file out in the same orderly fashion back to the deliberation room, and we were instructed not to discuss the case with our fellow jurors and absolutely no phone use to research the case. Following the recess, we heard from the defense, led by two attorneys, one of which had the whitest hands I’ve ever seen, they reminded me of Mickey Mouse’s gloves (in color only, not size).

There was resting of both sides, more shuffling in and out, and closing remarks before we met back in the deliberation room. Because of the waiting and shuffling, the day felt a bit like it was 5,000 years old, but I still held on to my feelings of excitement in knowing that we were determining someone’s guilt or innocence.

After an hour’s time, our jury returned our verdict, which we delivered on paper and then were asked to share our verdict verbally, one by one. In fact, all communication from juror to judge is passed in note form to the judge by the baliff, which reminded me of the note-passing I did to friends in middle school.

I don’t know what happened to the defendant after our verdict. I could research the case after; however, part of me feels like What happens on jury duty, rests there.

My final takes? While I enjoyed my experience as Juror #6 and being a part of the legal system process, the waiting around and single file walks made for a long day. I now see why people try to get out of it.

Less than a week after serving, I received a thank-you letter from the judge, which was a nice little cherry on top. I definitely did not object.