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Why One Juror Distrusts The Jury SystemWhy One Juror Distrusts The Jury System
The one time I served on a jury caused me to mistrust the jury system big time.
The case involved a father who had gone to his ex-wifes house to pick up their child for weekend vistation with him.
When he left the house his ex wife called police and said she thought he was under the influence. They did not locate him till he pulled up in front of his house. He refused a sobriety test and they arrested him, saying that he appeared to be "high stepping" (a term used for the way a person under the influence of drugs walks)..
The defense said that the wife was angry because she had wanted the boy to take him to Disneyland for the weekend and had made up the story about him being on drugs. Anyway, when the trial was over we were given the usual instructions and sent to deliberate.
As soon as we got in the room several people were ready to declare him guilty without even going over the evidence. By the way, on the jury was a prison guard and the wife of a sherrifs sargeant. I protested and said we should discuss it. I was of the opinion that since the police had not stopped the guy until he was in his driveway that he could not be charged with public driving under the influence, and it was their word aginst his. Anyway, after a while I reluctantly agreed to give a guilty verdict.
Then a young woman on the jury laughed and said, I went to have dinner at the Restaurant where the guys wife worked and she told me what ajerk he was. I said, wait a minute you were told not to discuss this case outside the courtroom much less with the defendants wife. Every pooh pooh this and voted any way to convict him.
I was angry but did not speak out and I regret it to this day. Whether the guy was guilty or not, he did not get a fair trial. The bailiff knew that I was upset and he came up to me afterword and said, if it makes you feel ny better, this guy has been in here before on the same charge. No I did not feel any better. It has haunted me these last 20 years and I hate myself.
To make matters worse the judge who presided over the trial was caught giving a sentence break for a young gal for doing a hoochie dance for him in the courtroom. It was his idea. God help that is true. I have never had a good feeling about the jury system since.
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