I had jury duty on Monday. Showed up in the afternoon along with about 30 or 40 others. Our handler said there was only one case they were considering for a jury, and an hour or two later, they said they resolved the case somehow (they didn’t say what the resolution was), and they didn’t need a jury. The judge came in, and said thanks, and that they wouldn’t have been able to resolve the case without us being there.
Was this just a feel-good statement so we didn’t feel like we were wasting our time, or did it really make a difference somehow, versus them deciding this before we came in? Were the lawyers checking out the potential jurors in the hallway as we lined up or something?
If it makes a difference, it was the 15th district court, in Ann Arbor, MI. Also, they said they would have needed six jurors, plus an alternate. I know nothing about what the case would have been about.
Probably the guy decided to plea at the last minute. My SO is a public defender and rarely ends up in an actual trial – though he did win his last one!
Yep. When confronted with the “jury pool of their peers”, lots of perps cop a plea. IMHO the judge was being sincere. When people don’t show up for jury duty, it puts even more pressure on the system, they need even more extra people in order for the prosecution and defense to agree on a selection, and sometimes just 50 people staring at the defendant is enough to bring him/her to their senses.
When this happened to me, they made a point of having us in the jury pool sitting along the hall outside the courtroom. The accused and their attorney had to “walk the gauntlet” going into the courtroom. I don’t doubt that this was intended to convey a message that “We’re serious about this and we’re ready to try you right now.” It seemed to work.
I would think of it in a more conceptual fashion. It’s not so much YOU who put pressure to settle the case but the existance of a functioning trial process, which wouldn’t exist without jurors. All of us who are willing to put aside our normal responsibilities to take part in a trial deserve thanks because without us, the whole thing comes to a grinding halt.
But not mileage both ways or decent pay. I don’t mind jury duty although I’m not enthusiastica bout it. Years ago the only superior court was in Bakersfield. If you were called for duty you drove the 120 miles to Bakersfield and got paid mieage for that. The trip home was on you. In addition the stipend was $5 at day and don’t tell me that things were cheaper back then. They were but meals and a motel weren’t that cheap. I didn’t bother me much because my employer (you taxpayers) gave me paid jury leave at my regular pay rate but it really pinched some people.
Something similar happened to me. In our case we were already sitting in the jury box. When the defendant took in the scene of a real courtroom with real jurors he changed his plea to guilty.
We never went into the courtroom. We just sat in a room with a bunch of chairs. No one came into our room until they had already settled it. If anyone saw us, they would have had to be in the hall when we were lining up to enter the room and sign in with the handler.
Maybe Cheesesteak’s “existence of a functioning trial process” is what the judge was referring to. I was just wondering if there was something more sneaky involved, like lawyers seeing what the racial makeup of that day’s jury pool was, or something.
It’s not just criminal trials; civil trials frequently settle at the last minute. And by “last minute” I mean after the jury is called and either right before, during, or immediately after voir dire.
I don’t mind jury duty so much; it’s a little inconvenient for me but it’s a civil duty and a day out of the office. However, I can certainly sympathize with those that have to drive excessive distances, take unpaid days off from work without reimbursement, have child-care complications, etc. The jury system was developed when the men worked in town and the little woman minded the house and kids, and it hasn’t really evolved with society.
Often the terms of a plea deal are so much better than what they [might get in trial that they take it. Sometimes we’re talking the order of either 10 years, or life. And it’s up the prosecution to make the offer and the judge to accept it.
I’m rather ambivalent about the whole plea thing, really, but that’s about how it works. At least that’s how it works here.
Last time I got called was over 10+ years ago, but they had a program which let you stay at home/work so long as you could give them a phone number and guarantee that if called you could be in the courthouse within an hour. Was considerably easier. This is in NY state…
Think Deal or No Deal, but instead of dollar amounts in all of the suitcases, they each contain a different sentence. Ranging anywhere from “$100 fine + 10 hours community service” to “Life in prison”. Convicts will be brought in shortly after being convicted and have the opportunity to play a round to determine their fate. Oh man, the ratings would be through the roof.
Speaking as a civil attorney (my only criminal experience, thankfully, is years past), sometimes lawsuits appear to be big games of chicken. Both sides can truly believe that they are in the right, but a jury adds an element of uncertainty. ZenBeam, I don’t think it had anything to do with concerns about the specific jury; it’s just that going to trial is relatively uncertain. For months leading up to the trial, the parties usually are engaged in settlement discussions (with various degrees of interest). In addition, in a lot of courts, trials are backed up. You can “trail” for months before you get a courtroom, which is simply more time to prepare, posture and explore settlement. But once the jury is brought in, it all becomes very, very real. Parties have been known to settle while big motions are pending; when trial is about to begin; when the jurors are being voir dired; when the jury is deliberating; and all points in between.
Jurors make it very, very real, not just for the lawyers, but for the clients. You do serve a valuable purpose, because you’re a concrete reminder that the stakes are (usually) quite high.
It’s funny, I was just talking about this the other day. Occassionally a defendant has a certain sense of unreality about their criminal charge, and in the back of their mind feels like they won’t really go to all of the trouble of having a whole big jury trial for little ol’ me. When the day of the trial rolls around and they see 30 or 40 people yanked out of work standing around waiting to sit as a jury panel, it sort of snaps them into focus and makes them realize “Holy crap! They’re serious about this!” Then they take the plea offer that they probably should have taken several months ago. Occassionally the district attorney will offer a slightly better deal at the last minute, but I’d wager it’s more often cold feet on the defendant’s part.
I was seated as a jurror on a product liability case involving a shower door. The plaintif fell through the door and was cut up badly. As part of the voir dire the plaintif’s lawyer made the claim that the door fell, and drug his client down, causing the injury.
Due to my technical background, I was questioned very closely by the alwyers on both sides. They found nothing to excuse for on for cause, and used up all of their challenges on other jurrors.
Anyway the jury was seated just beofre lunch and we broke for lunch.
After lunch we waited and waited to be let in. Finally we were admitted and told the case had settled.
As we were filing out the plaintif’s lawyer pointed to me and said “This is the guy that really scared me”.
I guess he thought I wasn’t going to buy the door fell by itself and drug my client down story. :dubious:
I am looking at my Notice to report for jury duty as I read these posts. It was nice (thanks dope!) to read the calm discussion of the practice. I will be having a fun-filled day in downtown New Orleans at the US District Court building in my very first federal jury pool. Since it took a LONG time to get the court system even partly working in the city (I live in the suburbs-will be back in my house in a few weeks-yeah!), I am kind of anxious about the process. Pre-storm the district court rarely if ever had to reach out to us to get jurors so I have never met anyone who had to serve in a federal jury in N.O. Hopefully it will be boring and short.